Speaker 1: In the previous episodes, Chicken Man and Lieutenant J. D.
Speaker 1: Hudson both painted a picture of their worlds hustlers and cops.
Speaker 1: I slowly began to learn who they were as they
Speaker 1: continued to share their stories and how they became the
Speaker 1: central figures of an event that in many ways encapsulated
Speaker 1: the struggles of the times. In nineteen seventy, the consciousness
Speaker 1: of the nation was shifting. The United States was in
Speaker 1: the middle of the Space Race and the Cold War.
Speaker 1: The country was polarized over Vietnam, and that intensified when
Speaker 1: the United States invaded Cambodia in April of nineteen seventy.
Speaker 1: Protests were sweeping the nation, and America's view of the
Speaker 1: war was shifting. In May of nineteen seventy, four Kent
Speaker 1: State University students were killed and nine were injured when
Speaker 1: members of the Ohio National Guard fired on a crowd
Speaker 1: gathered to protest the war. It would seem that the
Speaker 1: nation was tearing itself apart, and these divisions would be
Speaker 1: amplified in the southern city of Atlanta when Muhammad Ali,
Speaker 1: a black Muslim who had been barred from fighting after
Speaker 1: he refused to be drafted, return to the world stage
Speaker 1: of boxing. All of a sudden, Atlanta throws it's hat
Speaker 1: into the ring to the surprise of everyone. We must
Speaker 1: understand that Atlanta is a new, sexy, kind of fast
Speaker 1: city with beautiful black people. My dad was really excited
Speaker 1: about this. This was the cream of the crops, the
Speaker 1: most excited I ever seen him. You know, we're gonna
Speaker 1: live good for ever after this. It's bedlam in Atlanta.
Speaker 1: It's Marty Gras, It's New Year's e It's everything put
Speaker 1: together from my heart radio and doghouse pictures. This is
Speaker 1: fight Night. I'm Jeff Keating. It was the dawn of
Speaker 1: a new decade in America. The nation's struggles would soon
Speaker 1: be magnified. In one incredible event, the civil rights movement
Speaker 1: had swept across the country. As Atlanta was becoming the
Speaker 1: black New South. The anti war movement had found a hero,
Speaker 1: Muhammad Ali, a young, confident black Muslim boxer known as
Speaker 1: the Louisville Lipp who had resisted a war that many
Speaker 1: in America had come to see as unjust. Meanwhile, Jerry Quarry,
Speaker 1: the Bellflower bomber, symbolized the great White Hope. As the
Speaker 1: word spread that Muhammad Ali was returning to the ring.
Speaker 1: The national and international journalists sharpened their pencils and prepared
Speaker 1: for this event unlike any of the city had ever
Speaker 1: seen before. Politicians and businessmen worked behind the scenes to
Speaker 1: formalize and strategize plans that would ensure a boxing license
Speaker 1: was granted for Ali. Gangsters and hustlers from around the
Speaker 1: country packed bags of cash, knowing the gambling on this
Speaker 1: huge bout would be off the charts. This was a
Speaker 1: perfect storm forming over Atlanta, and everything was at stake. Ironically,
Speaker 1: this classic fight between Ali and Quarry landed in the
Speaker 1: Deep South, in the city of Atlanta. I wanted to
Speaker 1: find out how that happened, so I spoke with Los
Speaker 1: Angeles based author and journalist David Davis, who recently penned
Speaker 1: a new book entitled Wheels of Courage. David had written
Speaker 1: an oral history about the fight that nobody wanted for
Speaker 1: Atlanta Magazine in two thousand and five. So all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, Atlanta throws it's had into the ring to
Speaker 1: the surprise of everyone. And how this came about is
Speaker 1: Robert Cassell was a New York based attorney who had
Speaker 1: had some experience uh in the fight game. He had
Speaker 1: helped promote the Joe Fraser Jimmy Ellis Championship fight. He
Speaker 1: tried to get Ali back in the unsuccessfully and then
Speaker 1: had an idea, which was to call his father in law,
Speaker 1: a gentleman named Harry Pett who owned a business in Atlanta,
Speaker 1: and called his father in law to say, Hey, Dad,
Speaker 1: is there anybody out there in Atlanta that you know
Speaker 1: who could pull off a fight involving Muhammad Ali? And
Speaker 1: his father in law called back and said, if you're
Speaker 1: going to get anything done in Atlanta, you go through
Speaker 1: the state Senator Leroy Johnson. Leroy Johnson was the first
Speaker 1: black man elected to the Georgia State legislature since reconstruction.
Speaker 1: He was an insider in the political world in Atlanta
Speaker 1: and also in state politics. Leroy Johnson was one of
Speaker 1: the first politicians to recognize that while Georgia was under
Speaker 1: the control of Lester Matics, an avowed segregationist, Atlanta was
Speaker 1: becoming overwhelmingly black and that's where the power was. With
Speaker 1: the pe bull. He sensed an opening. Maybe if he
Speaker 1: worked on this, he could get the Alie fight to Atlanta.
Speaker 1: Here's David Davis, so Leroy Johnson after talking to Harry Pett,
Speaker 1: searched the law books and found out that in Georgia
Speaker 1: there was no state law governoring the sport of boxing.
Speaker 1: In other words, there was a loophole. When he saw that,
Speaker 1: he sensed an opening and realized that the power to
Speaker 1: license a fight in the state of Georgia would be
Speaker 1: through the mayor of Atlanta at the time, Sam Missell,
Speaker 1: and through the board of Aldermen and Leroy Johnson was
Speaker 1: a very, very smooth politician who had made friends on
Speaker 1: both sides of the aisle and with African American and
Speaker 1: white Americans alike, and he was allied with Sam Missel.
Speaker 1: He had helped bring out the African American vote to
Speaker 1: help Missell get elected as mayor in nineteen sixty nine,
Speaker 1: and working with a close friend of his, Jesse Hill,
Speaker 1: who was president of Atlanta Life Insurance, they approached Miscelle
Speaker 1: and said, look, we can get this fight here, We
Speaker 1: can get a license for this fight here, we can
Speaker 1: bring Ali down here, and we can have a barn
Speaker 1: burner of an event that speaks to the rising sense
Speaker 1: of Atlanta as a major league city. Here's Henrietta Antonine.
Speaker 1: She worked with Jesse Hill for thirty years and she
Speaker 1: helped him behind the scenes to support Larroy Johnson in
Speaker 1: his effort to get Ali a boxing license in Atlanta.
Speaker 1: Jesse Hill was a giant in Atlanta. He was the
Speaker 1: president of Atlanta Lice Issuance Company. He was a community activists.
Speaker 1: He was a highly professional businessman. He worked with the
Speaker 1: civil rights movement. He was chamitable, was among of the
Speaker 1: King Junior Center, and he was one of the first
Speaker 1: African American to be on the Chamber Commerce. I was
Speaker 1: inspired when I started working for Atlanta Life, and I
Speaker 1: admired our president, who was very outspoken, who who was
Speaker 1: involved in anything that involved justice and quality for black people.
Speaker 1: Here's a man that was always looking for the injustices
Speaker 1: that we're facing our people all the time. And he
Speaker 1: talked about how ridiculous it was that they were going
Speaker 1: to stop Muhammad Alive from fighting because of his his
Speaker 1: religious belief and I hear I heard him discuss it
Speaker 1: more time than I can count. So he was one
Speaker 1: of them. He was one of the first to talk
Speaker 1: about that was not fair and it was it was
Speaker 1: an unjust law and and he was against it. And
Speaker 1: I remember him saying that they were going to do
Speaker 1: something about it. So between Jesse Hill and Moory each
Speaker 1: Unson lobbying Sam misseell that did it, and Missle was
Speaker 1: convinced to give a license for the fight in Atlanta,
Speaker 1: and in exchange he got a donation for an anti
Speaker 1: drug organization that they had set up. So Leroy Johnson
Speaker 1: made an appointment to see less dramatics at the Governor's
Speaker 1: office at the Capitol. And the way he described it
Speaker 1: was that just before his meeting, the governor's son had
Speaker 1: been involved in a little bit of an incident and
Speaker 1: the judge had ruled every person deserves a second chance.
Speaker 1: Here is State Senator Leroy Johnson. When the word got
Speaker 1: out that he was going to fight here, the question
Speaker 1: was whether or not the government was stopping. But a
Speaker 1: mathematics was stopping. So I went to him and I said, go,
Speaker 1: I got an opportunity to get a license for Ellie
Speaker 1: to fight. And Elie doesn't know anything but fighting. That's
Speaker 1: his profession. And if he doesn't like, he's gonna have
Speaker 1: it gone well there, Governor supposed well. At that time,
Speaker 1: Governor matic Son had got into trouble into Cab County
Speaker 1: and the Jersey. The Cab County said to his son
Speaker 1: when he came to a citizen, I'm gonna give you
Speaker 1: another chance. I went to Mandick and I said, all
Speaker 1: I'm asking government is to give Ali another chance so
Speaker 1: that he can find that's his profession. And so Maddox
Speaker 1: said to me, and under that umbrella, give him another chance.
Speaker 1: He said, Okay, on with the fighting. Even after Governor
Speaker 1: Maddox agreed not to stand in the way of obtaining
Speaker 1: Ali a boxing license publicly, his stance did not change,
Speaker 1: nor did his support. This was revealed that several news
Speaker 1: organizations across the nation covered this story how he became
Speaker 1: a political issue rather than a heavyweight fighter overnight. The
Speaker 1: minute he refused to be drafted into the army. He
Speaker 1: tried to get out of the draft by saying he
Speaker 1: was a minister of the Black Muslim faith, but the
Speaker 1: course weren't having any of that, and after that, the
Speaker 1: people who are unprofessional boxing of the United States stripped
Speaker 1: him of his heavyweight crown. Meanwhile, a group of a
Speaker 1: lot of blacks and whites managed to get play a
Speaker 1: fight with Jerry Quarry to get him a license and
Speaker 1: bring the fight to Atlanta. Mayor Sam Marsell proclaimed the
Speaker 1: fight are Sports Appreciation Week. Governor Lester Maddis, though, had
Speaker 1: different ideas. He thought the whole thing was a disgrace
Speaker 1: and declared a day of morning. I don't see how
Speaker 1: this fight could take face very anywhere in the United
Speaker 1: States of America. Will men fetish did their his country's
Speaker 1: uniform and refused to be inducted into the service of
Speaker 1: his country. So our call for a day of mourning
Speaker 1: because of this, at this tragic thing is halfway in
Speaker 1: this United States of America, where men have fought so
Speaker 1: long and their wives and children have sacrificed so much,
Speaker 1: that this would take grace in this great city, in
Speaker 1: our great state, even more than, like I say, anywhere
Speaker 1: in the country or now. That I had an understanding
Speaker 1: of what was going on in the world around October
Speaker 1: of nine, I also wanted to understand about the boxers
Speaker 1: that were about to face each other in the ring.
Speaker 1: Here's David Davis talking about Jerry Corry and how he
Speaker 1: became interested in his life. I had done a long
Speaker 1: future story on Jerry Corey for The l A Weekly,
Speaker 1: and I was very curious about Jerry's career because it
Speaker 1: was one of those that you see sometimes in sports,
Speaker 1: and in boxing a career where the ability was there,
Speaker 1: but it's just for whatever reason, whether it was timing
Speaker 1: or bad luck, he never quite reached the pinnacle of
Speaker 1: his sport, which in boxing would have been the heavyweight
Speaker 1: championship of the world. And it did happen that he
Speaker 1: was fighting in an era where there were some amazing
Speaker 1: heavyweight fighters Muhammad Ali of course, but also Joe Frazier,
Speaker 1: George Foreman, Ernie Shavers, just a collection of quality heavyweights,
Speaker 1: and Jerry was slightly undersized even for that era and
Speaker 1: unfortunately never quite reached the pinnacle. Here's Dr Hopson describing
Speaker 1: Ali's character as a boxer and a man. Ali was
Speaker 1: known as the Louisville Lipp Prize fighter. Ali was not
Speaker 1: the typical arctype you know, black but art type athlete.
Speaker 1: I mean, he was extremely you know smart. It grown
Speaker 1: up at a middle class on where his father was
Speaker 1: a mail carry, his mother's school teacher. But he was
Speaker 1: you know big, he was charismatic, and he was you know,
Speaker 1: fast with his hands. He was just a new style
Speaker 1: of boxer, heavyweight boxer, and he had a conscious. He
Speaker 1: had a conscious because he was afforded particular good things
Speaker 1: in his life in terms of his family structure. And
Speaker 1: so when he decides to not participate in the draft
Speaker 1: and he's willing to go to jail, and then he
Speaker 1: changes his name to Muhammad Ali from Cassius Clay. Of
Speaker 1: course he's stripped of his title, and then he's really
Speaker 1: blacklisted in terms of where he could go and what
Speaker 1: he could do. When you take away a man's livelihood,
Speaker 1: it's natural that he would go into survival mode. But
Speaker 1: the choices for Muhammad Ali were extremely limited. Here's David
Speaker 1: Davis describing what Ali was facing around the country. Ali
Speaker 1: was in exile, so to speak, in the boxing community.
Speaker 1: He was stripped of his heavy A title and no
Speaker 1: one would touch him the big fight commissions New York,
Speaker 1: Madison Square, Garden, Vegas, Los Angeles. So what was he
Speaker 1: to do? How was he to make a living? And
Speaker 1: he struggled with that and did a play on Broadway.
Speaker 1: He was on the college lecture circuit. But all through
Speaker 1: this time period, his managers and business people affiliated with him.
Speaker 1: They searched for maybe they would fight on a Native
Speaker 1: American reservation, you know, because that would be outside of
Speaker 1: a boxing commission. That didn't happen. They were gonna maybe
Speaker 1: fight in Tijuana. That didn't happen. No one really wanted
Speaker 1: to take the chance because they figured somebody's gonna jump
Speaker 1: up and file lawsuits and it's going to get ugly. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the heavyweight division was moving along with Joe Frasier, so
Speaker 1: the powers that be in boxing were waiting to see
Speaker 1: how all this was going to be resolved, either four
Speaker 1: Ali or against Ali. No one wanted to take a
Speaker 1: chance and advertise that they were promoting a Muhammad Ali
Speaker 1: fight because it would have been very, very unpopular with
Speaker 1: both the general public and the boxing powers that be.
Speaker 1: Here's Dr Hobson explaining why Atlanta would be a perfect
Speaker 1: place to host this boxing event. There's a ground swell
Speaker 1: of things going on here and this is called the
Speaker 1: Black New South. And so you must understand that Atlanta
Speaker 1: is growing. It has now become an entertainment city. And
Speaker 1: as a result of it being a sports and entertainment city,
Speaker 1: you mean you have the arrival of the Falcons, the Hawks,
Speaker 1: and the braves. We must understand that Atlanta is a new,
Speaker 1: sexy kind of fast city with beautiful black people. Here's
Speaker 1: David Davis describing the scene as the fight, and that
Speaker 1: big weekend approached. It's bedlam in Atlanta. It's Mardi Gras,
Speaker 1: it's New Year's Eve, it's everything put together. And over
Speaker 1: the weekend you had this influx of journalists and the
Speaker 1: fight crowd and all of the hustlers and ball v
Speaker 1: vance who could shake down to Atlanta for this fight,
Speaker 1: and it seemed that everybody congregated at the Hyatt Regency Hotel,
Speaker 1: which had just recently opened and was known for its
Speaker 1: trademark atrium lobby and glass enclosed elevators so that you
Speaker 1: could sit at the bar and watch the action of
Speaker 1: people coming down into the lobby and see what they're
Speaker 1: wearing or what they're not wearing, and have another drink
Speaker 1: and celebrate what everybody assumed, or most people assumed, was
Speaker 1: going to be a Mohammad Ali victory. As the city
Speaker 1: prepared for this monumentous event, many citizens across the nations
Speaker 1: were still divided on their support from Mohammed Ali. Here's
Speaker 1: Dr Hobson. You know, White America was upset with Mohammed
Speaker 1: Ali because they felt that he had made boxing political.
Speaker 1: But the truth of the matter is that the body
Speaker 1: politics of what it means to be black big and
Speaker 1: strong has always been a political kind of conversation. They
Speaker 1: saw him as a draft dodger. They saw in his
Speaker 1: own patriotic when the truth of the matter is that
Speaker 1: Mohammed Ali was probably the most patriotic person in the
Speaker 1: United States because he believed in the American Constitution and
Speaker 1: felt like he had the right to protest or to
Speaker 1: assert himself on his terms. I mean, in a city
Speaker 1: that is sixty seven percent black at this time, of course,
Speaker 1: he becomes the embodiment of the brains and the brawn
Speaker 1: of what it means to be black, particularly in the
Speaker 1: black New South. Right before all the festivities in Atlanta began,
Speaker 1: Chicken Man was dealing with this anxiety as he prepared
Speaker 1: to pull the party off, especially when he heard that
Speaker 1: engraved invitations were printed and passed out to a large
Speaker 1: group of hustlers and gangsters. So he got the idea
Speaker 1: to move the party without telling anyone, and then letting
Speaker 1: people know at the last minute where the real party
Speaker 1: was going to be held. Here's Chicken Man telling j
Speaker 1: D from a tape recorded over forty years ago about
Speaker 1: his plan. Let me tell you another thing that really
Speaker 1: made me aware. I had to go back to New
Speaker 1: York for something. I called a cab back to the
Speaker 1: train station downtime. Polo picked me up. Polo told me
Speaker 1: and said, god, man, do you know these people gotta
Speaker 1: have some invitations. I had no idea because I wouldn't agree,
Speaker 1: no way to have an invitation to give him the
Speaker 1: game to anybody, and to give me anybody. So I said, well,
Speaker 1: so when I got into a minute, I staid, York
Speaker 1: and I talked to him. So they already did it nine.
Speaker 1: So when I come back to allow, I get the
Speaker 1: idea to move it with that didn't even know. And
Speaker 1: when they come where supposed to be, then we had
Speaker 1: taken to where it really is. Chicken Man starts to
Speaker 1: put his plan in motion by cutting a deal with
Speaker 1: a local thug who was hard up for cash. So
Speaker 1: a boy, a fellow I had out a little ding
Speaker 1: any probably his name was Teddy Pollard. Used to be
Speaker 1: a little thug drug using so he about to lose
Speaker 1: his house. So this this is a good way to
Speaker 1: baddest house. Hi. I was gonna give him the money
Speaker 1: the badest house, hiding three or fold of notes or
Speaker 1: whatever to use the house. Three n fol day. It
Speaker 1: was a blessing both way. So we go and he
Speaker 1: we go to setting up the basement. So now the
Speaker 1: two or three days before the part for the for
Speaker 1: the fire, week before the fight, the people New York
Speaker 1: and some people here to build a out take. If
Speaker 1: people come with all the materials they want, they know
Speaker 1: what they wanted. So I had to go get somebody,
Speaker 1: a copenter who could do what they want. And they
Speaker 1: know the lumber, they know everything all they needed, with
Speaker 1: some about competence who can father the instructions so they'd
Speaker 1: be at the craft table. But still I'm playing. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna move because I'm getting more engy and engy for
Speaker 1: some reason. But when he decides to tell his buddy Fireball,
Speaker 1: who would ask him to host the party, Fireball was
Speaker 1: against this plan. So then next morning I see called me.
Speaker 1: I said, listen, man, we're gonna move. I've already arrayed,
Speaker 1: we're gonna move the game, the Craft game from my
Speaker 1: house to play. I gotta take you by and show you.
Speaker 1: But he got all upset. It's no, man, I don't
Speaker 1: want to move there. You gonna move for we want
Speaker 1: the crap game to be where the people are. People
Speaker 1: want to leave a party to go to the crap game.
Speaker 1: But the crap game at the part people get because
Speaker 1: the game is all ready there. So I said, well,
Speaker 1: but Matt, so I tried to reason with him why
Speaker 1: I wanted to do that, but it was just again
Speaker 1: what he wanted to do. You know. I had second thoughts,
Speaker 1: but I said, Okay, now Chicken Man is back to
Speaker 1: where he started. He finally gets everything set up and
Speaker 1: even though he still had a bad feeling, the party
Speaker 1: was ready to go. Here's Gordon Williams Jr. Describing the scene.
Speaker 1: I went to the house prior to the party, you know,
Speaker 1: but I was a young boy, and I was like, wow,
Speaker 1: they got it the whole place. I mean that was
Speaker 1: nothing in there but roule a wheels and card tables
Speaker 1: and crap tables, and I mean that's always in there,
Speaker 1: you know. And I was like, wow, this is incredible.
Speaker 1: He did it, and he pulled it off. Everything was
Speaker 1: working according to schedule. The pre partying starts at Chicken
Speaker 1: Man's house and things are rolling. Hustlers are dressed to
Speaker 1: the nines, Booze is flowing like a river. Money is
Speaker 1: flying everywhere. The party of parties. Chicken Men had a
Speaker 1: bad feeling for weeks, and now that he sees all
Speaker 1: the action at his house, he knows some ship is
Speaker 1: about to go down. He doesn't know when, he just knows,
Speaker 1: but he's in it and he's got to let it
Speaker 1: play out. If so many people came in the house,
Speaker 1: I mean niggas had a meek heads. I mean I had,
Speaker 1: you know, and I thought I had been to a
Speaker 1: few places and saw a few things. But when I
Speaker 1: saw these things coming and the good, the good told me,
Speaker 1: I got. I got. I actually got afraid then, because
Speaker 1: you know, I know the danger and the police catching all.
Speaker 1: Let's all us together whatever we call what we thought
Speaker 1: we would have. I mean people. Then there money, so
Speaker 1: I realized not in love and involved in something here.
Speaker 1: But I think I know WA makes some money though
Speaker 1: you know I'm staying because advises and all these big
Speaker 1: crap fits the biggest time they're only the time I
Speaker 1: saw the bush. You that that money that's said, that's
Speaker 1: that's quite. I ain't eve knob of that right right there.
Speaker 1: I want shot that ain't invested with people better. I
Speaker 1: mean it came like never before. Everyone was in for
Speaker 1: a fight. Muhammad Ali was fighting the rust from his
Speaker 1: absence in the ring, the pressure from his supporters to
Speaker 1: regain his title, and for his safety as thousands of
Speaker 1: death threats were targeting him and his entourage. Jerry Corey
Speaker 1: was fighting to prove himself as a championship boxer and
Speaker 1: to live up to the title forced upon him as
Speaker 1: the Great White Hope. J. D. Hudson was fighting to
Speaker 1: keep Ali alive since he was in charge of his
Speaker 1: security team in Atlanta, and soon Chicken Man would be
Speaker 1: fighting for his life. Nobody he knew that while this
Speaker 1: huge event was happening, a mastermind lurked in the shadows,
Speaker 1: preparing to take down the super Bowl of parties and
Speaker 1: robbed some of the most dangerous gangsters in the country,
Speaker 1: and it was all about to happen on Fight Night.
Speaker 1: Fight Night is a joint production from High Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: Will Packer Media and Doghouse Pictures in association with Psychopia Pictures.
Speaker 1: Produced and hosted by Jeff Keating. Executive producers are Will Packer,
Speaker 1: James Lopez, Kenny Burns, Dan Bush, Lars Jacobsen, and Noel Brown.
Speaker 1: Supervising producers Taylor Hickoyne. Story editors are Noel Brown and
Speaker 1: Dan Bush. Written by Jeff Keating and Jim Roberts. Edited
Speaker 1: by Matt Owen. Mixing and sound designed by Jeremiah Kolonnie Prescott.
Speaker 1: Music written and performed by the Diamond Street Players. Additional
Speaker 1: music by Ben Lovett. Audio archives courtesy of WSB News
Speaker 1: Film and Videotape Collection, Brown Media Archives, University of Georgia Libraries.
Speaker 1: Special thanks to Dr Maurice Hobson and David Davis. Fight
Speaker 1: Night is a production of I heart Radio. For more
Speaker 1: podcasts from my heart Radio, check out the i heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.