King’sConnect Hoax of the century Featuring Mike Banks ‘76 as Muhammad Ali
Stories of pranks and practical jokes are commonly shared at homecoming and other alumni gatherings as grads reminisce about their university days. For those at King’s in 1974, few will have forgotten Mike Banks and his unique prank that has since been named the “hoax of the century”.
The conversation lasted only a few minutes, but Banks maintained his cover, even going so far as to recite his own Ali-like poem about his upcoming match with Foreman:
At the age of 20, Banks was a typical university student with a unique talent of voice impressions. On October 28, 1974, he used his talent to not only entertain his pals, but also to trick legendary sportscaster Howard Cosell into believing he had a phone conversation with boxing great Muhammad Ali.
When Georgy Porgy come out to fight,
On the night of the hoax, Cosell was broadcasting on ABCs Monday Night Football. Banks, doing his best Ali impression, called the station and requested to speak with the broadcaster. As it was only two nights before the historic Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between world heavyweight champion George Foreman and former world champion and challenger Muhammad Ali, Cosell jumped at the opportunity to speak with the champ.
“Georgy Porgy puddin’ and pie, Devestation punch and heap big thigh, I’m gonna knock him outta sight.” More than 37 years later, Banks is still asked about the hoax. During a recent interview with CBC Radio’s As it Happens, Banks recalled how, to the amusement of his dorm mates, Cosell boasted about his “conversation” with Ali on live television, referring to it as “one of the biggest thrills” of his career. However, Cosell was less than impressed upon learning that he had actually spoken to a 20-year-old university student out of a dorm room in London, Ontario. “He said I should be put in jail,” recalls Banks, who technically broke U.S. wiretapping laws by taping the phone conversation. Fortunately, this charge was never pursued. Instead, the media attention
from the hoax led to a second phone call, this one to Banks instead of by him. Muhammad Ali, finding great humour in the prank, personally called Banks in his dorm room at King’s and invited him to join his entourage. After pulling off this legendary prank, Banks went on to become a sports impressionist and was recognized in 2000 with millennium awards from the Canadian Press and Associated Press for pulling off the “hoax of the century”. As demonstrated during his interview with CBC, Banks has not lost his touch when it comes to his Ali impression. To hear the entire broadcast, which includes excerpts from the original interview recorded in 1974, visit www.cbc.ca/asithappens/episode/2011/10/28/ the-friday-edition/
Call for pranks!
Share your memories of great pranks or practical jokes that played out while you were at King’s by submitting your story to kcalumni@uwo.ca.
call for photos from the past Share your old photos from your time at King’s and see them published in a future issue of the King’s Herald! Please send all photos to kcalumni@uwo.ca. 10
The King’s Herald | spring 2012