Muhammed Ali in Hedge End 1971.

Black Plaque to commemorate the moment.

It is not every day that the most famous sporting superstar on the planet walks into your local supermarket. But in October 1971 that is exactly what happened in Hampshire.

Bemused shoppers looked on in astonishment as the former world heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, created a “rumble” in the aisles as he made an appearance at the Fine Fare Supermarket in Hedge End. It was undoubtedly a surprising sight and not a littleincongruous to see a legend of Ali’s stature up close and personal and it’s pretty safe to say that since that day no one with a bigger name than Muhammed Ali has been spotted locally. This is part of a newspaper report at the time.

Muhammad Ali 1942 - 2016

Excerpt from Black Stories Southampton, Extraordinary Accounts by Don John