NEW PALTZ, New York – How many of Mrs Richard Hibbard’s double malted milkshakes did heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson drink at the Flagpole Fountain between September of 1959 and June of 1960?

The answer to that question is, of course, unknowable but to the residents of Newtown it was those milkshakes and the daily jogs up from the former LaRonda Restaurant that clearly helped Patterson regain his heavyweight boxing championship from Ingemar Johansson on June 20, 1960.

Patterson died on Thursday, May 11, at his home in New Paltz, New York, at the age of 71. He had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for about eight years and prostate cancer, according to his nephew, Sherman Patterson.

Patterson was the shy, quiet man cast as the good guy in bouts with Sonny Liston and Muhammed Ali, but Liston knocked Patterson out twice in the first round and Ali twice defeated Patterson – one time, after Patterson called him by his given name, Cassius Clay, with Ali punctuating each punch with, “What’s my name?”

Patterson lost his heavyweight title in 1959 when Johansson knocked him down seven times.

“They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most,” Patterson once said.

Focused on regaining his title, Patterson began a new training regimen that took him to Newtown. Local realtor Ned Foster negotiated a six-month lease on the former LaRonda Restaurant with trainer Cus D’Amato and the former champ began working out in September of 1959.

His daily jogs to the Flagpole Fountain endeared him to the local residents, as did his frequent trips to the Grand Union supermarket. It was at the old Texaco Service station on Route 25 that Patterson and his people would get their oil and gas and where former owner Bob Otto kept a picture Patterson gave him.

“(He was) a nice fellow,” Mr Otto said back in 1960. “An awfully nice fellow. The first time I met him, it was on a Sunday and he couldn’t start his car. This was during the winter. I went over there and got it going for him. I just charged him the regular amount, but he gave me ten for myself. I won a little money on the fight, too.”

Because of the proximity of the LaRonda, the Hawley Manor became a hub for sportswriters and promoters visiting the champ. In May of 1960, former champ Joe Louis even made a stop in Newtown.

Then there was Sam Taub, veteran sportswriter and radio personality, who stopped in at The Bee one day to make his acquaintance.

On Friday, July 8 of 1960, following his defeat of Johansson, Patterson returned to Newtown for a hearty celebration and received an enormous welcome.

According to The Newtown Bee account on June 24, 1960, “It is certain that Newtown’s niche in boxing history, though small, is now secure. Never before has the heavyweight title, once lost, been regained.”

In September of 1962, the LaRonda was torn down by Edwin Moss and Sons, Inc., General Contractors of Bridgeport. The former restaurant was razed in anticipation of building a residential development.

Patterson’s final fight was in 1972 and he was stopped by Ali in the seventh round. Patterson finished with a 55-8-1 career record with 40 knockouts. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.

A memorial service has been scheduled for May 27 in Albany, New York.