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On the left is Mr. Leslie Wolff, Joe Frazier's Marketing Manager and friend. To the right is Owner/General Manager Michael DiGennaro of the Delmar Auto Outlet on Rt. 13.
Mr. DiGennaro was kind enough to bring Joe Frazier all the way to Delmar, Maryland for their Grand Opening this past weekend.
One of the coolest parts about Joe Frazier was the fact that he was supposed to arrive and get started at 12:00 and go till 4:00 PM. However, he arrived at 10:45 AM, (early) and stayed signing autographs till 4:30 PM and wouldn't stop till the last fan got an autograph.
Living in New York City for as many years as I did, I got the chance to meet a lot of Celebrities. I'll never forget standing outside a building on 6th Avenue and the next thing I knew Howard Cosell was leaning up against a limousine smoking a cigarette. I just had to walk up to him and say hello.
He threw me for a double take because I knew I had recognized the face but the rest of him was a mess. Haunched back and a pot belly, who would have known. He was also getting up there in years but when I was a kid, Boxing was as big as Football and Baseball and Howard was the man, back in the day.
I've never had to fortune of meeting Mohammad Ali but as often as he was televised he was a household name, just like Frazier. So to get to meet this living legend was a treat, (like I said earlier) I'll never forget in my lifetime.
For what it's worth, when I owned a chain of Billiard Rooms, once a year I'd bring in Celebrities like Ewa Mataya, Mike Sigel, Nick Varner and the likes of such. It was always a treat seeing people interact with these incredible Pool Players and bring them to a small town USA, like Michael just did for Delmar.
Hopefully you were able to be a part of this event as literally thousands of people lined around the building for hours just to get the chance to meet the former Heavyweight Champion of the World.
More posts on this event will follow. I simply wanted to thank Mr. DiGennaro for putting Delmar on the map, even if it was only for a day. By the way, they have one heck of a selection of vehicles should you be in the market for a good Used Car/Truck.
Joe, I'd be very interested to hear you write more about your experiences in NYC or more stories about owning pool halls. That sounds fascinating, actually.
ReplyDeleteJoe, you wouldn't have like Ali, as you and the rest of the world call him. I knew him when he was Cassius Clay and bought a home in our neighborhood. Joe never left the hood, Clay moved over here in what was known as Overbrook, in West Philly. A predominantly white/jewish community. Having him in the neighborhood wasn't the worst thing to happen. Him laying astroturf in his driveway however, was. The man was tactless and arrogant. I'd drive across the city to Broad and Glenwood to see Joe any day. Clay? I wouldn't give him the time of day. He could fight for millions of dollars but when the army drafted him he became a muslim for convenience. Clay/Ali doesn't hold a candle to Smokin Joe.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should say that. I knew Ray Leonard just around the time he was going into the Olympics and he was a great personable guy. Once he went Pro he turned into a complete a-hole and forgot where he came from. Granted, he was one of the greatest fighters I had ever seen/known but he is one of the main reasons I knew when I was younger that if I ever became rich I would never forget where I came from. Thanks for the lesson Sugar Ray Leonard!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I used to live in Hollywood, in an old art deco building where the famouse Playboy photographer, Jerry Pasternack had his offices. One day when I got home from work, Billy said to me,"you will never guess who was here today, Mohammed Ali"! I was intrigued and asked him what happened. He said Ali was a mess. He was disoriented and didn't know where he was or what he was doing. He was wandering around outside of the building shaking and looking awful. Billy brought him a glass of ice water. Ali was very grateful and gave Billy a phone number to call and shortly thereafter a car came and picked him up. This was all before it was known that he has Parkinsons disease.
ReplyDeleteBilly said it was really said to see a man who had been the man who he had been in such a state.
Ray Romano and Mike sold me a car about a year ago. I left the dealership with a new car, a smile on my face, and left over money in my pocket. The service and the price was second to none, Thanks Delmar Automotive, You have made a faithful customer for life.
ReplyDelete-Vincent