It is with the heaviest heart I’ve had in years that I write that American hero and Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Century”, Muhammad Ali, who for many years fought an an ongoing battled with Parkinson’s Disease, has passed on.
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. in Louisville, KY) began one of the most celebrated careers in all professional sports history in 1960 at the age of 18. He quickly rose through the ranks of professional boxing. He floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee...winning the Heavyweight Championship of the World from Sonny Liston on Feb. 25
th, 1964.
Soon after that, Cassius Clay would join The Nation of Islam and change his name to Muhammad Ali…beginning a march straight into the heart of The United States’ Civil Rights Movement. He would remain always outspoken and controversial, in and out of the ring throughout his esteemed career.
In 1967, having held the heavyweight title for three years, Ali refused induction into the U.S. Military, and service in America’s controversial war in Vietnam. He was then stripped of his title, arrested and charged with Draft Evasion. After appeal, The United States Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1971 and thus cemented his place as a figurehead in the anti-war movement and counterculture of the time.
His legendary fights with Joe Frazier entranced an already racially polarized America and drew the attention of the entire planet. And, throughout the 1960’s and 70’s his matches with the likes of Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo, Ken Norton, George Foreman and Larry Holmes set the world on its ear.
An entertainer out of the ring as well, his renowned friendship and antics with Howard Cosell were legendary staples of sports television.
After a significant career decline, Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Syndrome a few years later in 1984.
Today, sadly, the world has lost more than just a champion of sport, but a hero of the greatest human magnitude.
R.I.P. Champ!