The incident that caused me the most personal embarrassment occurred during my visit to Havana during the winter of 1958. I had received an invitation from the Cuban government through General Fernandez y Miranda, head of the Cuban Sports Commission, to attend the dedication of the new Havana stadium, the most beautiful and completely equipped arena I have ever seen. I had visited General Miranda, President Batista and Ernesto Azua, chairman of the Cuban Boxing Commission, a few weeks before to arrange the program for the sports carnival scheduled for that week. Unfortunately, my presence was commented upon in a six-page article entitled “Unhappy Cuba’s Cockeyed Week” in the March 6 issue of _LIFE_ magazine. Among the many photos was one of General Miranda and me which bore the caption “Slot king is Batista relative, Fernandez y Miranda, here talking with boxing historian Nat Fleischer.” Needless to say, this caused me considerable embarrassment as the article was an _exposé_ of mobster activities in the Cuban capital. There was nothing in the story to indicate that I had any connection with gambling in Havana, but the intimation was there. I was besieged by calls for days following the article’s appearance. Friends and acquaintances joshed me continually about my association with racketeers, and to each I had to explain that my appearance in Havana was on behalf of sports and in no way connected with gambling. Through my work as a journalist I have met many of the mobsters mentioned in the _Life_ story, as most of them were New York’s top shots of the Prohibition era. They are now firmly entrenched in the Nacional, Riviera and Capri hotels running their investments into gigantic fortunes. As for General Miranda, I know him only as a member of President Batista’s cabinet in charge of physical education and sports. He has frequently visited Madison Square Garden and _The Ring_ office and is a most charming man. I wasn’t aware that he was “king of the slot machines,” in Havana, but I do know that he is one of the six finest shots in Central America, where he holds many records, not only for shooting but for track and field and amateur boxing and wrestling. It should be noted that through General Miranda’s efforts there is far less juvenile delinquency in Havana than there is in New York. A little more of the Cuban athletic spirit and enthusiasm for boxing, baseball, basketball and swimming would undoubtedly be welcome in America’s largest city. The sports carnival itself was marred by a tragic opening day accident in the Gran Premio, a 315 mile automobile race. Fidel Castro’s rebels had kidnaped Fangio, Argentina’s great road champion, in the hopes that his absence would prevent this major event from taking place, but the race got underway after an hour-and-a-half postponement.