I had no idea who Mr. Goldberg was when one afternoon about 11 years ago I walked into the saloon he then owned called The Beach Club in the shopping center at PCH and Bellflower Blvd., and as I sipped a vodka and orange juice alone he came over to the bar and cordially introduced himself to me.

"I know you write about sports, and I wanna tell you I have a son named Josh who one day will become the right-handed Sandy Koufax," he told me.

Immediately, his brash statement struck a chord with me, since, well, I long have had a fascination with a litany of memorable people unafraid to express outrageous opinions not necessarily within the bounds of political correctness and who navigate the years in odysseys not exactly in accordance to proper, everyday society.

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And thus it's not too surprising that during my 44 years as a sporting author I became friends and often chronicled the words and actions of such bonafide characters as Muhammad Ali, Carroll Rosenbloom, Don King, Al Davis, Wilt Chamberlain, Tommy Lasorda, Fred Dryer, Thomas (Hollywood) Henderson, Randy (Tex) Cobb and, of course, Donnie (No Win) Kramer, the legendary Long Beach ticket tout famous for having a unique knack for always choosing the losing side in betting propositions.

Thus it was inevitable I'd become a pal of any guy upon meeting me for the first time who would have the chutzpah to predict his 14-year-old son was destined to become another Koufax.

Well, Big Ben Goldberg's son did quite well at Wilson High -- he was the Moore League's Player of the Year in 2014 -- and did pitch four seasons at San Jose State and, alas, did not live up to his father's inflated expectations although he's now done well in the job recruiting business.

But, natch, Ol' Ben, despite spearheading charity drives for the Wilson baseball program that raised almost a half million dollars and led to vast improvements at Skip Rowland Stadium, ruffled a few Bruin feathers along the way.

"Ben pissed off a lot of people," the Bruins' varsity baseball coach, Andy Hall," once told me.

Not surprising.

A month or so after I met Mr. Goldberg, he got into a well-publicized public row with PETA over a carnival-style game he staged weekly at his establishment in which a victor could emerge with a lobster that would be cooked at his establishment.

"The game went on about a year -- and it became really popular among our patrons," he says. "But the people at PETA found out about it, and one evening we had 70 to 80 protesters in front of our restaurant. The Long Beach S.W.A.T. team was there with other officers and a short while later the Long Beach Health Department decided to shut the game down."

Mr. Goldberg also long has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, displaying great courage wearing a MAGA hat in public and even flying a Donald Drum flag alongside the American one on the pole in front of his former home in University Park Estates, aka The Hole.

But those flags came down Tuesday, as moving trucks descended on Mr. Goldberg's property, which he recently sold, and transported his furniture and other possessions to another location.

You see, Big Ben Goldberg, who has resided in Long Beach since he was born 50 years ago and is a 1987 Wilson High graduate, has not only moved out of the city, but also out of the county.

He and wife Barbara have relocated to Huntington Harbor in Orange County.

"We're within the city limits of Sunset Beach, but we bought a townhouse on the water and can see Catalina Island on a clear day and Pelican Isle every day," he says, referring to the popular tavern where he will now be occasionally ordering his favorite beverage known as The Goldberg (Ketel 1 Vodka and Diet Cran Pomegranate) at the Boathouse on the Bay, his favorite watering hole.

"Why did you decide to abandon Long Beach?" I ask.

"The Long Beach I knew and loved is no more -- and it's only going to get worse in the upcoming years," he says. "Between the unions controlling everything in town and the anti-business stance of the city council and so many others at City Hall, I just felt it was time to move on."

Lest you think Big Ben Goldberg will curl up and slink into oblivion, forget about it.

This is gentleman who savors a serious challenge, as he showed 10 years ago when he was diagnosed with stage 2B Hodgkin's Lymphoma -- and immediately did four months of chemotherapy and two months of radiation.

"It wasn't easy, and there were times when it was very grueling," he says. "But I was able to beat it and I've been clean now for over 10 years."

Mr. Goldberg's Facebook debates across the years over his support of Donald Trump have been quite lively, especially when exchanging views with people like the one-time City Councilman Les Robbins and the one-time Parks & Recreation City bigwig, Bob Livingstone.

"I always speak my mind -- and will continue to speak my mind," says Mr. Goldberg, long a successful stockbroker and portfolio manager for RBC Wealth Management, for which he handles many wealthy clients. "Look, I still love Long Beach, and my office is actually in Long Beach near the Orange County border. But I just don't like the way Long Beach has been run in recent years. It seems not a year goes by when the politicians raise the city tax and pass expensive bonds that are a huge waste of money."

Incidentally, those of you who wonder how Mr. Goldberg lost so much weight, he says it's quite simple.

"I ate less and drank more and lost 130 pounds in a year," he says with a smirk.

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