For each person living with myasthenia gravis, or MG, their journey with this rare condition is unique. That's why Untold Stories Life with myasthenia gravis, a new podcast from iHeartRadio in partnership with Argenics, is exploring the extraordinary challenges and personal triumphs of underserved communities living with MG.
Host Martine Hackett will share these powerful perspectives from real people with MG so their experiences can help inspire the MG community and educate others about this rare condition. Listen to find strength in community on the MG journey on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. sampling everything available on Max, like Season 3 of The Righteous Gemstones, falling in love with pics from Hallmark movies now, and turning up with iHeartRadio's Hit Nation playlist. Discover new free content across the best streaming apps every week of the year, no strings attached. Say free this week into your Xfinity voice remote. This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories, and we tell stories about everything here on this show, from the arts to sports, and from business to history, and everything in between, including your stories.
Send them to OurAmericanStories.com. They're some of our favorites. And our next story comes from a Colorado listener.
Let's take a listen. My name is Patty Kingsbaker and I grew up in Miami. My dad was the boxing coach for the University of Miami, but they discontinued boxing in 1954, I believe. But at the time, I mean, he had two jobs. He worked for the Coral Gables Fire Department, and he was the boxing coach for the University of Miami. So when they discontinued boxing, he started refereeing. And so as when I was growing up, I'm not sure how old I was when he started taking me to the fights, but I feel like I was at least seven. So every Friday night, I was over on Miami Beach with my dad and going to the fights. So I grew up knowing all the boxers, and growing up in that world, I mean, I just loved boxing.
So we found out that the Johansen-Patterson heavyweight championship fight was going to be in Miami. And of course, I was like, my dad's going to referee. But they really, they don't find out who's going to referee a fight until like five minutes before the fight.
They come over and get tagged to do it. So long story short, my dad, there was one other referee that I knew was probably had enough experience or that it was between my dad and this other guy. Well, and his name was Cy Godfrey, and my dad was Billy Regan.
But Cy refereed a 10-rounder right before the main event. And so I knew, I knew that my dad was, so I hit it. You know, I just was headed down towards to see my dad, you know, to go, yeah, you're going to get this fight. And I was behind the bleachers, but they were holding the crowd back. And all of a sudden I looked up and like 10 feet in front of me is Frank Sinatra. And he's standing there with that, you know, he had his finger on his coat over his shoulder. He had the hat on and I was stopped in my tracks.
I was like, oh, my God, that's Frank Sinatra. So I never made it down ringside to talk to my dad before the fight. But he did, in fact, referee the fight.
And it was when Patterson regained the title from Johansson. And so when I found my dad after the fight, of course, the first thing I said to him wasn't you got to referee the fight. It was like, Daddy, I saw Frank Sinatra, you know.
So anyway, the story had kind of circulated through the fighters and Chris Dundee, who was the promoter at the time. And, you know, everybody gave me a hard time for not getting his autograph. And I was like, I was just scared.
I didn't know what to do. So it was a few months later, I think, and I was at the fights with my dad. And Chris Dundee came up to me and he goes, all right, Frank's coming in tonight. And he's going to come in through that door over there.
All right. At nine o'clock. So you keep your eyes peeled and you go get your autograph this time. So sure enough, at nine o'clock, that door open and in comes Frank and I'm ready. And so I go hauling over there. They're taking him to a seat, but the thing was is Chris forgot to tell security to let me through.
So they're not letting me through. And again, can't get his autograph. So I was just so disappointed because I felt like I had a clear path that night. Anyway, I went home and I ended up writing him a letter and he was performing over at the fountain blue at the time. And I wrote him a letter and I explained everything. I explained that my dad had refereed the championship fight, that I had been standing 10 feet, you know, with a clear path to him, but was scared. And that Chris had told me he was coming in the other night and that, you know, I had my paper and pen ready, but then security wouldn't let me through. And I said, so now it looks like I'm never going to get your autograph.
You know, if you could just send it to me, I would really appreciate it. So, and I mailed the letter off to Frank Sinatra at the fountain blue hotel. So it was a few days later, maybe, I don't know, but my dad called me chuckling and he said, I got the strangest phone call today. And he was working at the fire station at the time. And he said, this guy calls me and he goes, are you the Billy Regan, the referee, the handsome Patterson fight? And he said, yeah. He said, Oh God, thank God.
Frank's been driving us nuts. Your daughter wrote him a letter. Somebody threw away the envelope.
He doesn't have an address and he wants to send her a picture. So my dad gave him the address and I have my autograph picture from Frank Sinatra from that. And you've been listening to Patty Kingsbaker and she has another story about Elvis Presley and look, if you've got stories like it, send them to our American stories dot com brushes with greatness or a celebrity or a star you really love or care about. Tell us those stories again.
Send them to our American stories dot com. And I could just picture it. I mean, and Frank was always working on that image no matter where he walked. That coat was over his back, just like on so many of his records in that hat. That signature hat was always there.
And there was a day when he played little places like the fountain blue. By the way, that hotel is still there and still has top line entertainment. And if you want to get a taste of the old Miami, it's still there. And South Beach is still a great place to go and and have some fun.
Listen to some great music and enjoy the sun. Patty Kingsbakers story, her story of her encounter, well, her almost encounter with Frank Sinatra here on our American stories. You're in our American stories. We bring you inspiring stories of history, sports, business, faith and love stories from a great and beautiful country that need to be told.
We can't do it without you. Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not free to make. If you love our stories in America like we do, please go to our American stories dot com and click the donate button. Give a little, give a lot. Help us keep the great American stories coming. That's our American stories dot com.
I'm Malcolm Gladwell. I don't know if you notice about me, but I'm a car nut and I will do anything to keep my cars happy, to make sure they stay running smoothly. I look for those things at eBay Motors with eBay guaranteed fit. When you see the green check, you know that part will fit. Get the right parts at the right prices.
eBay Motors dot com. Let's ride eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Now is the time to experience America's pastime in a whole new way. Major League Baseball has teamed up with T-Mobile for Business to advance the game with next gen 5G solutions. Going deeper with real time data visualization, new camera angles that put fans on the field with their favorite players, and even testing an automated ball strike system in the minor leagues. This is the 5G era of baseball. See what we can do for your business at T-Mobile dot com slash now. Major League Baseball trademarks used with permission.
Officially licensed product of MLB Players Incorporated. There are some things in life you just can't trust, like free couch on the side of the road. You never know. Or the sushi rolls from your local gas station. You never know. Or when your kid says they don't need the bathroom before the trip. But there are some things in life you can trust, like the HP Smart Tank printer with up to two years of ink included and outstanding print quality. You know, you can rely on the HP Smart Tank printer from HP, America's most trusted printer brand.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-07-27 04:42:48 / 2023-07-27 04:47:07 / 4