LEWISTON — Bill Johnson was sitting with Rick Tonoli and John Campbell before the start of a banquet celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston fight in Lewiston when they wondered, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could get Ali to visit Tom Callahan at his home?” Callahan, a close friend and a […]
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Boxing: N.H. author to discuss “Phantom Punch” at Lewiston Public Library
The eyes of the sports world — trained two generations ago never to miss a bout for the one, the only, heavyweight championship — were fixed upon Lewiston shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25, 1965. If those eyes didn’t blink, perhaps they saw the short, stabbing right hand of Muhammad Ali connecting with the temple […]
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The Hot Corner: Special section for the ages not without phantom panic
So, true confession: I dreaded our Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston project, with the same fear and anxiety that accompany a root canal or aversion therapy that involves reptiles or rodents. Overreact much? Probably. The golden anniversary of this infamous shindig coming to Lewiston was worthy of hip-hooray and ballyhoo, of course. But there’s a diminishing returns […]
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Ali-Liston: Memories of the moment
We asked, you answered. here are some of the memories you, the readers, shared with us when we asked for volunteers: “I was present at the Muhammad Ali fight. I did not see the knockout punch. However, on the next day, which was a Sunday, my family went to Holiday Inn in Auburn as we […]
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Ali-Liston 50th: Harvie brothers never had their chance to run
The Phantom Punch at 50 Interactive guide to our stories, photos, audio and video | Audio: Listen to the radio broadcast from the fight | Video: Can you see the punch? | Interactive timeline of the fighters’ careers | Newspaper coverage & readers’ memories from 1965 LEWISTON — Fifty years cause legends to grow beyond recognition, of course, but it’s safe to say Bates College students used […]
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Ali-Liston 50th: Mason’s memories signed, sealed, delivered
The Phantom Punch at 50 Interactive guide to our stories, photos, audio and video | Audio: Listen to the radio broadcast from the fight | Video: Can you see the punch? | Interactive timeline of the fighters’ careers | Newspaper coverage & readers’ memories from 1965 LISBON — The signature is fading, but the memories haven’t. Gina Mason was 5 when her father, car dealer Chauncey Crafts, brought […]
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Ali-Liston 50th: Couturier plays big role in helping land fight
The Phantom Punch at 50 Interactive guide to our stories, photos, audio and video | Audio: Listen to the radio broadcast from the fight | Video: Can you see the punch? | Interactive timeline of the fighters’ careers | Newspaper coverage & readers’ memories from 1965 According to Couturier’s widow, Monique, that piece might have understated the issue. “He thought it was ridiculous, because he thought […]
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Ali-Liston 50th: A college student’s close encounters
The Phantom Punch at 50 Interactive guide to our stories, photos, audio and video | Audio: Listen to the radio broadcast from the fight | Video: Can you see the punch? | Interactive timeline of the fighters’ careers | Newspaper coverage & readers’ memories from 1965 LIVERMORE — Thousands of tri-county residents got within shouting distance of Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston during the lead-up to May […]
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Ali-Liston 50th: Paul Marcotte, Journal reporter who broke story
Paul Marcotte spent only seven years in the newspaper business, and that time elapsed long before the dawn of what we know as the 24-hour news cycle. It was still an era when you could break a story at any hour of the day or night, which Marcotte demonstrated by dishing out the scoop on […]
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Ali-Liston 50th: Barbara Harris, whose father was one of the judges
The Phantom Punch at 50 Interactive guide to our stories, photos, audio and video | Audio: Listen to the radio broadcast from the fight | Video: Can you see the punch? | Interactive timeline of the fighters’ careers | Newspaper coverage & readers’ memories from 1965 DIXFIELD — Watch the grainy video of Muhammad Ali knocking out Sonny Liston a hundred times, and you may never see […]