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Horwitz ahorwitz@renmedia.us Partner: F. Kevin Browett kbrowett@renmedia.us Partner: Michael H. Steinhardt How to reach us see page 10 And the more I was into it, the more he seemed to want to show me. ” Kaline had not yet reached the limit of his generosity. Before leaving on the last day of camp, he sought out Surnow. “He told me he had something to give me, ” Michael said. With that, “ Al took out a brand-new baseball. He autographed it right in the sweet spot which only Hall of Famers can do. He gave it to me, and I cherish it to this day. ” In April 2004, Dr. Marvin Sonne, a den- tist from Farmington Hills, was looking for a meaningful way to bring some joy to his longtime close friend and fellow dentist, Dr. Michael Kohleriter. Michael, 62, a for- mer Detroiter, lay bedridden in his home in Dallas, waging what was at that point a three-year battle with a terminal brain tumor. Sonne and Kohleriter shared a love for the Tigers and that inspired an idea. He called the team’ s front office and was directed to Jordan Field, a young Jewish attorney, who was hired by the Tigers upon graduating Wayne State Law School in 2002. Eighteen years later, Jordan, 42, is now the team’ s director of player relations and the Detroit Tigers Foundation, the charitable arm of the franchise. It was Dr. Sonne’ s desire to surprise his ailing friend with a signed photograph of well wishes from Al Kaline. In his con- versation with Field, Sonne shared details about Kohleriter’ s life and his dire health condition and hoped for the best. And indeed, by performing a mitzvah in his own right, Field facilitated an even better outcome. In late April 2004, Lory Kohleriter, Michael’ s wife, nearly mistook the envelope that arrived from the Detroit Tigers at her Dallas home as marketing literature. She opened it and began reading the surprising, heartwarming personal contents of the let- ter at her husband’ s bedside. Any thought that this was a joke faded as her eyes gazed at the end of the letter to discover Al Kaline’ s signature. Lory will never forget how her husband’ s face lit up. “He just grinned from ear to ear. That’ s how I knew he was aware. ” An immediate phone call to their dear friend Marvin confirmed the Kohleriters’ suspicions that he was the one who had coordinated this incredible act of kindness. “Marv was thrilled out of his mind that the Tigers did it and so quickly, ” Lory said. More than a signed photograph, the Tigers and Al Kaline had gone above and beyond. By sheer coincidence, the letter from Al Kaline was dated April 21; fittingly, it was Dr. Michael Kohleriter’ s birthday. The perfect gift. Just over a year later, Michael passed away peacefully in his home. The last time Jordan Field saw Al Kaline was at a small, private autograph sign- ing Field had arranged last December at Comerica Park. “I remembered that morn- ing that he loved donuts, ” Field said. “So I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts. Got a box of munchkins. Mr. Kaline was right on time and happy to see the box. “We ate donut holes together as he signed each item carefully and perfect- ly, adding #6 or an inscription if it had been requested. Some items — a ’ 68 team photo and an old baseball card — sparked memories of his career which he shared in between bites. He signed the last item, asked if I had anything else he needed to sign. He thanked me for my help and gave me a pat on the shoulder. He grabbed the half-emp- ty box of donuts and said he was heading to the clubhouse to share them with the clubhouse attendants. ” Al Kaline’ s baseball statistics speak for themselves. His actions off the field speak to the fact that he was also a Hall of Fame human being. Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/acting talent, speaker, and emcee. Visit his website at laughwith- bigal.com,“Like” Al on Facebook and reach him at amuskovitz@renmedia.us. continued from page 5 Al Kaline, circa 1995 JOHN MATHEW SMITH & WWW.CELEBRITY-PHOTOS.COM