One of the many stories I can tell about Ali to give you an idea what a marvelously twisted sense of humor he had.

My brother has been involved in the sports memorabilia trade for many years. In fact, during shows and conventions here in Atlanta he would be the guy sitting next to the big name draw keeping the line flowing smoothly while the person signed autographs.

Awhile back Muhammad Ali was going to be the big draw and Ali was the idol of my brother's boss (and later partner) at his regular job so my brother asked Bob if he wanted to sit in for him at the show. That is sit next to Ali for a couple hours and talk while he signed autographs.

For Bob it was truly a dream come true. He was ecstatic and obviously jumped at the chance.

Everything went well until about three quarters of the way through the show Ali suddenly stops signing an autograph and turns to Bob glaring at him. "What did you just say?," he growled softly at Bob all the while angrily glaring at him.

Bob was taken aback. He hadn't said anything and said so.

"No. I heard you," Ali snarled getting louder.

Bob continued protesting his innocence completely confused and not wanting one of the greatest boxers who ever lived, a man who made a living pummeling other top notched boxers, and someone he greatly admired, angry at him.

Ali continued getting even louder "You called me a [n-word]. I heard you!"

At this point Bob was stuttering, stammering and nearly reduced to tears both scared and upset.

Ali repeated the accusation even louder.

Then a big smile spread across his face and he told Bob, "It's okay, I was just messing with ya" and started chuckling.

At the end of the show Ali gave Bob a pair of the boxing gloves he had worn during the Olympics that he signed for him as a gift.

My brother inherited the gloves when Bob passed away about a decade later.

But that was how Ali was.