At least, he was given a Royals jersey reading "ALI" with No. 1 on it by Hall of Famer George Brett prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ali, a resident of the area, made an unannounced visit to Surprise Stadium in an outing arranged with the Royals by an Ali neighbor, former Kansas City Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery.

Arriving on the field in a golf cart, Ali was applauded by the crowd of 10,929 and surrounded by Royals' players as Brett made the jersey presentation. Ali donned the jersey for photographs.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre and several of his players then crossed the field to greet Ali. Hockey great Wayne Gretzky, the coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, also joined Ali, Brett and Torre for some photos.

How's that for a sports fan's dream gathering?

Ali was then escorted to a front-row seat to watch the game, just behind Royals manager Trey Hillman and his staff.

Ali departed the matchup in the middle of the fifth inning.