The year is 1977, and though the King is long past his prime — and unbeknownst to him, mere weeks from death — Elvis Presley had a lot of fight in him.
In the early hours of June 24, Presley had recently arrived in Madison from a concert in Des Moines. While his limo was stopped at a red light on East Washington Avenue, Presley noticed a teen on the ground being beaten by two other youths.
As the story goes, Presley jumped out of his limo and confronted the teens in his classic karate stance saying, "I'll take you on."
Upon recognizing the rocker, the teens stopped fighting and shook Presley’s hand. He waited around until the situation settled and reportedly asked, "Is everything settled now?” The teens promised to keep the peace and Presley went on his way. He died 52 days later.
A small plaque to commemorate the event was installed at the scene of the fight along East Washington Avenue. It has been defaced over the years but stands strong today, just as Presley did that night in June.
