victor bender met muhammad ali when he was 13 years old. they remained friends up until his death. wound up being one of the pallbearers at the funeral service. >> if he was looking down, he would say, "i'm still the greatest. i'm still the greatest of all time." >> reporter: when it was all said and done, we couldn't have done this without the people of louisville being so gracious with their time and sharing their stories of the champ, the greatest, louisville's hometown hero, muhammad ali. >> ninan: and in england today, there was a huge celebration for queen elizabeth's 90th birthday. john vigliotti was there. report if there is one thing a party fit for a queen must be, it is grand. today the country showed up to celebrate the oldest and longest-reigning monarch in the land. the queen emerged from buckingham palace dressed in the most vibrant shade of green. you could say at 90 years old, she knows a thing or two about commanding an audience. husband prince philip, who just turned 95 yesterday, donned his traditional bearskin hat. the fairy talesque festivities were led by duc

victor bender has a lifetime of memories. he met him at 13. >> as a youngster he was quiet. >> reporter: really? >> when he got the medal, the world changed >> reporter: he thought his long-time friend would fight his way out of the hospital as he had several times before. how is his wife? >> she's the backbone, a very special woman. she loved her husband, and she wanted to be there any time he needed anything. >> reporter: billy reid covered the 3-time champion for decades, and he said he was concerned when he last saw him at a university of louisville football game. >> i just leaned down and kissed him and said god bless you champ. i don't know what i did. i think i was saying good-bye. >> he was a frequent visitor to the nation's mosque here in washington, dc. it was the nation's mosque founder that gave him his muslim name. today the leaders reflected on the man they call a role model in the muslim community. >> he made it palatable for many of us to change our names. >> when he began to stand on his stand on his faith, i

. >> reporter: ali's friend victor bender had nearly a lifetime full of memories.met ali when he was 13. >> as a youngster he was very quiet, he wasn't very vocal. >> reporter: really? >> yeah, he wasn't at all. >> reporter: it wasn't until he got the medal. >> when he got that metal a whole different world changed for him. >> reporter: having visited ali several times in recent years, bender says he thought his long time friend would fight his way out of the hospital as he had done several times before. how was his wife doing? >> she's the backbone. a very special woman and she loves her husband and she wanted to be there every time, anything, his needs and what happened she was there to make sure she had it. >> this was the day after he. >> reporter: former sports writer billy reid covered the three-time heavyweight champion for decades. he says he was concerned when he last saw ali in october at a university of louisville football game. >> i just leaned down and kissed his bald spot and said god bless you, champ. and i don't know why i did it. but i think probab

. >> victor bender met ali, cascius clay, when they were 13 and went to school at central high.ined lifelong friend. >> what are you going to miss most about ali? >> his friendship. his happiness. his telling jokes. just enjoying being around people. he loved people. >> reporter: sunday, ali's body traveled from a scottsdale, arizona, hospital and came home to louisville. at the baptist church, ali attended before converting to islam, his younger brother, rahman ali wept during a service. >> he is a wonderful man. >> reporter: at the muhammad ali center, a stream of people stopped to pay their respects. at a louisville mosque, those at an interfaith service remembered ali being a symbol of strength. >> i am muhammad ali. >> the doctor is a muslim leader. at this time when islamaphobia is at a height, and hatred and bigotry is the word of politics we needed him more than ever. >> what do you think ali is saying he looks down from support of the people? >> if he is looking down he is saying, i'm still the greatest. i'm still the greatest of all time. >> and now, muhammad in his ow

. >> reporter: ali's friend victor bender had nearly a lifetime of memories.et ali when he was 13. >> as a youngster, he was very quiet. >> reporter: really? >> yes, wasn't at all. >> it wasn't until he got the medal. >> when he got that medal, a whole different world changed for him. >> reporter: having visited ali several times in recent years, bender says he thought his long-time friend would fight his way out of the hospital, as he had done several times before. how is his wife doing? >> she's the backbone. lonnie's a very special woman. she loves her husband and she wanted to be there every time, nything, his needs, she was e, there to make sure he had it. >> this was the day after he beat spinks -- >> reporter: former sports writer billy reed covered the three-time heavyweight champion for decades. he said he was concerned when he last saw ali in october at a university of louisville football game. >> i just leaned down and kissed his bald spot and said, god bless you, champ. and i don't know why i did it, but i think probably now, i was probably saying

. >> reporter: victor bender first met ali, then known as cassius clay, when they were 13 and went tochool at central high. they remained lifelong friends. what are you going to miss most? >> i'm going to miss his friendship, his happiness, his telling jokes, and just enjoying being around people. he loved people. >> reporter: on sunday ali's body traveled from a scottsdale, arizona, hospital and came home to louisville. at the baptist church ali attended before converting to islam, his younger brother wept during a service held in his brother's honor. >> he's one of the saints. he's a wonderful man. >> reporter: it at the muhammad ali center, a stream of people stopped to pay their respects. at a louisville mosque, those at an interfaith service remembered ali for being a symbol of vent. >> i'm muhammad ali. >> i'm muhammad ali. >> reporter: a local muslim leader. >> at this time when islamaphobia is at its height, when hatred and bigotry is the word of politics, we needed muhammad more than ever. >> reporter: what do you think muhammad ali is saying as he looks down at all the suppo

. >> reporter: victor bender first met ali, known e then known as cassius clay, when they were 13.hey remained lifelong friends. what are you going to miss most? >> his friendship, his happiness, his telling jokes, and just enjoying being around people. he loved people. >> reporter: on sunday, ali's body arizona, hospital and came home to louisville. at the baptist church ali attended, before converting to islam, his younger brother, rahman ali, wept in a service in his honor. >> a wonderful man. >> reporter: a steady stream of people stopped to pay their respects. at a louisville mosque, those at an interfaith service remembered ali for being a symbol of strength. >> i am muhammad ali -- >> reporter: this is a local muslim leader. >> at this time when islamaphobia is at its height, when hate rhered and bigotry is politics, we need one more than ever. >> if he was looking down, he would say, i'm still the greatest. i'm still the greatest of all >> reporter: among the speakers scheduled to speak at the public service friday are former president bill clinton and comedian billy crysta

victor mender met ali when they were 13. >> she was quiet -- >> reporter: it wasn't until the >> reporter: having visited ali several times in recent years, benderhe thought his longtime friend would fight his way out of the hospital as he had done several times before. so how his wife doing? >> she's the backbone. she's a special woman, and she loves her husband. she wanted to be there every time anything -- his knees, what have you. she there was to make sure he had it. >> this was the day after he beat spinks -- >> reporter: former sports writer billy reid covered the three-time heavyweight champion for decades. he said he was concerned when he last saw oild in october at -- ali in october at a university of football game. >> i kissed his pald spot and said, "god bless you, champ." i don't know why i did it. i think probably now i was probably saying good-bye. >> reporter: he's obviously touched you. >> yes. more so than probably i knew. >> that was reporting. >>> coming up on "cbs this morning," more on muhammad ali. we will hear from his daughter, laila. >>> the wildfire in california is at least 80% contained. crews battled the 500-acre br