Everyone who has a personal story about Muhammad Ali is sharing it today, including this remarkable anecdote from Dan Bricklin, father of the spreadsheet, originally posted online in 1999.

“For those of you too young to remember Ali as the most famous person in the world, let me tell you about the one time I saw him in person. I was at Ben Rosen / Esther Dyson’s PC conference in Palm Springs, California; January 1983, I think. Ali was attending a fighter’s training camp at the same hotel. We were walking to some event outside. I was next to Steve Jobs and maybe Bill Gates was there. Ali walked down the street. I just remember how we all stopped to watch, mouths open, even Steve. I remember how well he carried himself and his tailored clothes. It made our industry seem small — here were our top people and all we could do was stand and stare as ‘the Greatest’ walked by oblivious to us and our industry.”

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here