Like the rest of the millions of fans around the world, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dean Kiekhefer is keeping an eye on Muhammad Ali’s recent health issues.

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“He’s a huge presence in Louisville,” stated Kiekhefer. “He’s obviously one of the greatest athletes of all-time.”

The 74-year old, former World Champion boxer has been hospitalized for what was initially described as respiratory issues.

The two grew up in that city and even though Ali had retired from the ring eight years before Kiekhefer was born in 1989, the left-hander learned early on about “The Greatest”.

NCAA Football: Sugar Bowl-Louisville vs Florida“Honestly, I think it was probably in elementary school growing up,” recalled Kiekhefer. “Everybody from around there knows that Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville and that he was a Louisville-guy and the story of everything. It’s one of those things you go back and watch some of the fights and how dominating he was. Just his energy that he brought to the ring and things like that and the passion for the sport, you could see that in him.”

As a senior in college, Kiekhefer actually got to meet Ali a few times as his son Asaad was a freshman on the Louisville Cardinals baseball team in 2010.

“Just an awesome guy and obviously a great competitor,” said Kiekhefer. “We would know when he came to the games because he would sit up in a suite or something like that. But it was always one of those things that he was just so humble with his career and what all he had accomplished. Just a great, great guy.”

The youngest of Ali’s nine children, Asaad was a catcher and drafted out of high school in the 40th round by the Angels.

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“He was a good baseball player, I think he’s scouting now,” said Kiekhefer. Indeed, after working as an area scout for the Chicago White Sox, Assad is now an assistant baseball coach at a community college.

Besides supporting his son, Ali continued to support the program–making a $50,000 donation in 2015 to establish the Muhammad Ali Leadership Baseball Scholarship.

“It allows me to support three things I love: children, education, and sports,” said Ali in a press release at the time.

photo credit: Keith Williams/The Courier-Journal-USA TODAY NETWORK, John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

 

 

 

 

 

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