Socorro's untold tales about the People's Champion

When Muhammad Ali spent nearly a week in Socorro in 1976 as part of Dick Gregory's Food Run, he proved himself to be the "People's Champion indeed" as he charmed his way into the hearts of local citizens with a mixture of humility and bravado.

It's a secret to most of the world, and for the people who got to meet and talk with the most famous man on the planet, it seems like yesterday.

Search the Internet with keywords like Dick Gregory, Mohammad Ali, and food run, and the answers on Bing and Google show places like Louisville, Kentucky (Ali's hometown) and Washington, D.C. Still, there are no references to the three-time heavyweight world boxing champion coming to Socorro.

But Ali did come to Socorro, and he spent five days at the Golden Manor motel, where crowds of locals flocked to catch a glimpse of him. The El Defensor Chieftain had a front-page story and pictures of Ali.

Gregory was drawing attention to the battle against hunger, and the comedian, activist, and vegan was running across America. Throughout his journey, he was joined by Ali. Ali didn't have the time or endurance for the kind of long-distance running Gregory was doing, so he ran different portions of the event, meeting up with Gregory at various stops.

Ali's main focus at the time was Ken Norton, in preparation for the final bout of their legendary trilogy on Sept. 28 that year. The champ was running six miles a day, six days a week, while his friend, Gregory, was averaging 50 miles a day. He completed his 2,782-mile run in 71 days.

Four Days with the Champ

"Ali pointed at me and said he can't run that far," Jon Jaramillo said. "I hadn't said anything about not running far. He pushed it on me, but everybody knew he didn't want to run 6-7 miles into Albuquerque."

Jaramillo had fallen into the enviable role of getting to run with the heavyweight champion of the world on not just one occasion, but every day Ali was in Socorro. The champ was running daily along Interstate 25 toward Lemitar, using the hills along the way to test himself, and he took a shine to Jaramillo because he kept up with him every step of the way.

Jaramillo would learn Ali had two different personalities. One was Mohammed Ali, the dynamic heavyweight champion who turned on when the cameras showed up. The other was an ordinary, friendly man who liked sampling the Jaramillo family's beans and tortillas.

"He liked the beans and tortillas so much he sent one of his bodyguards back over to our house to see if they could have some more, and we gave it to them," Jaramillo said.

Ali drew a crowd of onlookers no matter where he went, and it was no different when he was out running in his combat boots and a set of Norton box fans began to heckle him. Jaramillo and others running with Ali took offense, but the champion told them to ignore "those fools."

Things changed dramatically when a television van pulled up in front of the running group, and the rear doors swung open for the cameras. Jaramillo recalls the moment with a perfect imitation of Ali.

"He wouldn't give them the time of day until KOB drove in front of us, and the back doors opened up, and the cameras were pointing at him. Then he started with his Muhammad Ali stuff, and all of a sudden, they became interesting to him. I beat Fraser. I beat Norton. They beat Norton; you figure it out. He started playing his role, which got me to believe that it was a role he played for the cameras," Jaramillo said.

Jaramillo formed his opinion after watching how Ali looked people in the eye and talked to them as if they were old friends.

I had the idea this guy was beyond approach, that he was somebody you couldn't get near, but he treated people really well. They say ordinary people do extraordinary things, and he was like that. He was so damn fun to be around," Jaramillo said.

Ali drifted toward Jaramillo after he kept up with him during an uphill sprint that left other runners behind. Later, he invited him into his motorhome for a ride back to town. Ali tabbed him to be one of the runners to join him for the big run into Albuquerque. Being his newfound friend didn't stop Ali from saying the run into Albuquerque needed to be much shorter because of him, though.

"He kind of threw me under the bus, but everyone knew he was joking and just laying it off on me," Jaramillo said.

How Embarrassing

When you're a teenager, public moments can be super embarrassing, and when Ali came up behind Patti Silva picked her up and said he was going to run off with her in front of a crowd at the Golden Manor, she blushed beet-red.

"He came up from behind me. I guess he was getting there to the hotel with his entourage, and he just got me, hugged me, and said he was going to take me with him," Silva said. "He took me with him. He picked me out of the whole crowd. I was so embarrassed."

Silva's embarrassment quickly faded as she recalled how quickly Ali moved to put her at ease.

"He was so real. He wasn't fake or anything. He was just down to earth and really nice and so tall," Silva said. "I really liked him even though I was embarrassed."

Now, Silva recalls meeting Ali with fondness, and she's proud she had the opportunity to meet him.

Beans, Green Chili and Tortillas

When Darryl Cases heard about Ali visiting Socorro, he was excited for a chance to get to see the champ like many youngsters his age, but he balked at his sisters' idea the family should take Ali some beans and tortillas.

"He's not going to eat beans and chili. That's not what the champ does," Cases said. "My sister said oh, he'll eat them."

Full of doubt and not willing to risk Ali's turning down such an offer, Cases and his friend Daniel Lopez watched what unfolded from around a corner about 50 yards away as Cases' father and his sisters boldly knocked on the door of Ali's RV.

"They go knock on the door on the Winnebago, and the door opens. Here comes his trainer, and then Muhammad Ali, the champ; he stepped out, and his wife, too. They're talking, and we're looking at them, and Ali takes them inside the motorhome. You can see the gesture he's giving them about the green chili, and it's good stuff; he liked it," Cases said.

Ali liked it so much that the girls emerged with a couple of souvenirs.

"They came back out after a while, and they had an autographed black and white photo," Cases said. "He signed it for them, and he gave one of my sisters a medallion."

An Invite from the Champ

Joseph Garcia's encounter with Ali was a bit of luck. He caught word the boxer was in town, and while he had hopes of at least getting to see him, he didn't expect to actually meet the champ.

"I was in my first year in college, and we were down for the weekend and driving through town. One of the local motels had a huge entourage from the bottom to the top level, and we heard it was Muhammad Ali. So, I Tommy Crispin, Thomas Bean, and Jon Jaramillo stopped there. We were just little punks, and I didn't expect to meet him," Garcia said.

It was a timely arrival because Ali was preparing to head out on one of his training runs. The young men quickly joined in when Ali asked them if they would like to join him. As they got around the Lemitar area, Ali decided he had enough, so he got into his trailing RV and zipped back to Socorro.

"The guy picked him up and left me and Tom and Jon in the middle of nowhere," Garcia said.

Luckily, Garcia had a friend trailing the group because they weren't sure how things would end up, and despite the "abandonment," the memory is one of Garcia's most significant moments.

"I can name you my heroes in my life. And obviously, he was one of my first, and why he took that time to talk to us and invite us to run with him is beyond me," Garcia said. "He proved over and over he was the People's Champion."