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• Born: 17 January 1942
• Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
• Best Known As: Heavyweight boxing champ called "The Greatest"

Name at birth: Cassius Marcellus Clay

Charismatic, outspoken and nicknamed "The Greatest," heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was the dominant heavyweight fighter of the 1960s and 1970s. A fighter of exceptional speed, cunning and flair, Ali won the world heavyweight title on three separate occasions over a span of 15 years. He was born Cassius Clay, and under that name he won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. After claiming his first title by defeating Sonny Liston in 1964, Clay joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Citing his Islamic faith, Ali refused to serve in the U.S. military during the war in Vietnam; his title was revoked and he was sentenced to five years in prison for draft evasion. (The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the conviction in 1971.) He had a long-running rivalry with fellow heavyweight Joe Frazier, whom he fought three times: Ali lost the first match in 1971, but won rematches in 1974 and 1975. Ali also defeated George Foreman in the famous 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" held in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali retired from boxing in 1981, but in the decades since has remained one of the world's best-known athletes.

In retirement Ali has suffered from Parkinson's Disease, a motor-skills illness which has slowed his movement and left him mostly unable to speak in public... In 1996 he was selected to light the ceremonial flame at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, bringing him again into the public eye... Ali was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990... He won his three titles by defeating Sonny Liston (1964), George Foreman (1974) and Leon Spinks (1978)... Ali's managers sometimes refer to him as GOAT -- the Greatest Of All Time... Sprinter Wilma Rudolph won three gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, the same games at which Ali won his boxing gold.

Ali, Muhammad (b. 1942), prizefighter. Despite the considerable achievements of such important African American athletes as Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Wilma Rudolph, Jim Brown, and Jackie Robinson, the young brash prizefighter from Louisville, Kentucky, may very well have eclipsed their significance. He surely eclipsed their fame as, at the height of his career in the early and middle 1970s, Muhammad Ali was, without question, the most famous African American in history and among the five most recognized faces on the planet.

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., in 1942 (named after both his father and the famous Kentucky abolitionist), the gregarious, handsome, and extraordinarily gifted boxer garnered world attention by winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. He further stunned the sports world by beating the heavily favored Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title in 1964, and shocked white America by announcing right after that fight that he had joined the militant, antiwhite Nation of Islam, the Black Muslims, whose most well-known figure was the fiery orator Malcolm X. He also announced that he was changing his name to Muhammad Ali. When he opposed being drafted during the Vietnam War on religious grounds and was subsequently convicted of violating the Selective Service Act in 1967, he was denied a license to fight anywhere in the United States. He was, at this time, among white America, probably the most hated black public figure since heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. After an exile of three and a half years, Ali returned triumphantly to boxing in 1970, even though he lost his title to Joe Frazier in 1971. He eventually won back his title in 1974, and after losing it once in 1978 regained it again later that year.

Ali exercised an extraordinary influence on African American culture in the 1960s, doing much to keep the Nation of Islam popular in the black community after the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965. He figured in the writings of such important 1960s black literary figures as Amiri Baraka Eldridge Cleaver, Malcolm X, and Larry Neal, not to mention numerous black journalists and poets. He came to symbolize black manhood and masculinity, unbowed and uncompromising, adversarial and combative, a virtually one-person definition of African American self-determination in the middle and late 1960s. But his boyish bragging and his poetic predictions of doom for his opponents made him an important public prefigure for the performance art of rap. Ali's autobiography, The Greatest: My Own Story, was coauthored with Richard Durham and published in 1975. Toni Morrison served as the book's editor.

Gerald Early

• Genre: Spoken Word
• Active: '60s, '70s
• Instrument: Vocals
• Representative Album: "I Am the Greatest!"

Biography

The world's best-known boxer was quick with the wit and was a natural for the comedy recording genre, especially in the less controversial days before he became Muhammad Ali. His albums include I Am the Greatest.~ Larry Lapka, All Music Guide

Similar Artists:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Sebastian Cabot, Paul Robeson

Performed Songs By:

Gary Belkin, Peter Matz

I Am the Greatest! Buy this CD

• Born: Jan 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky
• Occupation: Actor
• Active: '60s-'80s, 2000s
• Major Genres: Sports & Recreation, History
• Career Highlights: Requiem for a Heavyweight, When We Were Kings, Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World
• First Major Screen Credit: Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)

Biography

Muhammad Ali was once one of the world's greatest and most flamboyant boxers, and during the course of his long career, he also became known as an eloquent statesman for peace as well as a generous man who devoted much of his considerable earnings to charity. Because of his many achievements and extraordinary athletic career, Ali has been the subject of numerous documentary features, including the Oscar-winning When We Were Kings (1996). Ali has appeared as himself in several feature films, but has also tried his hand at acting, most notably in the highly regarded biography of his life, The Greatest (1977). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World Buy this Movie	America: A Tribute to Heroes Buy this Movie	Fidel Buy this Movie	When We Were Kings Buy this Movie
Boxing's Best: Muhammad Ali Buy this Movie	Champions Forever: World Heavyweight Champs! Buy this Movie	Doin' Time Buy this Movie	Body and Soul Buy this Movie

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Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay, 1942) was the only professional boxer to win the heavyweight championship three times. With his outspoken political and religious views he has provided leadership and an example for African American men and women around the world.

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17, 1942, at Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad Ali began boxing at the age of 12. A white policeman named Joe Martin featured Ali on his early television show, "Tomorrow's Champions," and started him working out at Louisville's Columbia Gym. An African American trainer named Fred Stoner taught Ali the science of boxing, instructing him to move with the grace and subtlety of a dancer.

"Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee"

Ali built an impressive amateur record which led him to both the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and Golden Gloves championships. At the age of 18 he competed in the 1960 Olympic games held at Rome, Italy, and won the gold medal in the light-heavyweight division. This led to a contract with a twelve member group of millionaires called the Louisville Sponsors Group, the most lucrative contract negotiated by a professional in the history of boxing. He worked his way through a string of professional victories, employing a style that combined speed with devastating punching power, described by one of his handlers as the ability to "float like a butterfly, and sting like a bee."

Ali's flamboyant style of boasting and rhyming and out-spoken self-promotion garnered considerable media attention as he moved toward a chance to contend for the world heavyweight boxing championship. When he began to write poems predicting the outcome of his many bouts he became known by the another name: "The Louisville Lip." Both the attention and his skill as a fighter paid off, and on February 15, 1964, at Miami, Florida, when he was only 22 years old, he fought and defeated Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship of the world.

"Beloved of Allah"

Meanwhile Ali, inspired by human rights activist Malcolm X, embraced the Black Muslim faith and announced that he had changed his name to Cassius X. This was at a time when the struggle for civil rights was at a peak and the Muslims had emerged as a controversial but major force in the African American community. Later he was given the name Muhammad Ali, meaning "beloved of Allah," by the Muslim patriarch Elijah Muhammad.

In his first title defense, held at Lewiston, Maine, on May 25, 1965, he defeated the now challenger Sonny Liston with a first round knockout that many called a phantom punch because it was so fast and powerful that few in attendance saw it. Ali successfully defended his title eight more times.

On April 28, 1967, Ali was drafted into military service during the Vietnam War. As a Muslim and a conscientious objector he refused to serve, claiming an exemption as a minister of the Black Muslim religion. The press turned against him, calling him "unpatriotic, loudmouthed, bombastic." Although he had not been charged or convicted for violating the Selective Service Act, the New York State Athletic Commission and World Boxing Association suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his heavyweight title in May of 1967. Ali's comment to Sports Illustrated at the time was, "I'm giving up my title, my wealth, may be my future. Many great men have been tested for their religious beliefs. If I pass this test, I'll come out stronger than ever." Eventually Ali was sentenced to five years in prison, released on appeal, and his conviction overturned three years later by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Vindication and Victory

The vindicated Ali returned to the ring in a victorious bout with Jerry Quary in Atlanta in 1971. Four months later he was defeated by Joe Frazier in Manila, who had replaced him as heavyweight champion when the title had been vacated. He regained the championship for the first time when he defeated George Forman (who had beaten Frazier for the title) in a bout held in Zaire in 1974. Ali fought Frazier again in the same year, and in 1975 won both matches and secured his title as the world heavyweight champion. In that year, to welcome Ali back, Sports Illustrated magazine named him their "Sportsman of the Year."

Ali began to employ a new style of boxing, one that he called his "rope-a-dope." He would let his opponents wear themselves down while he rested, often against the ropes; then he would lash out in the later rounds. During his ensuing reign Ali successfully defended his title ten more times. Ali held the championship until he was defeated by Leon Spinks on February 16, 1978, in a bout held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seven months later, on September 15, 1978, Ali regained the heavyweight title by defeating Spinks in a bout held at New Orleans. Ali thus became the first boxer in history to win the heavyweight championship three times. At the end of his boxing career he was slowed by a neurological condition related to Parkinson's disease. His last fight, the 61st, took place in 1981.

Role as Statesman

As his career wound to a close, Ali became increasingly involved in social causes, diplomacy and politics. He has campaigned for Jimmy Carter and other Democratic political candidates and taken part in the promotion of a variety of political causes addressing poverty and children. He even played the role of diplomat, attempting to secure the release of four kidnapped Americans in Lebanon in 1985. As a result, his image changed from gadfly to highly respected statesman.

At the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, the world and his country honored Ali by choosing him to light the Olympic torch during the opening ceremonies.

Further Reading

There are numerous books about Muhammad Ali. Some of the best include Thomas Conklin, Muhammad Ali: The Fight for Respect (1992), Thomas Hauser's three books, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times (1992), Muhammad Ali in Perspective (1996), and Muhammad Ali: Memories, with photographer Neil Leifer. Other supplementary texts include Barry Denenberg, The Story of Muhammad Ali: Heavyweight Champion of the World (Famous Lives) (1996), The People's Champ (Sport and Society), edited by Elliott J. Gorn (1995), Arlene Schulman, Muhammad Ali: Champion (Newsmakers) (1996), Jack Rummel, Muhammad Ali (Black Americans ofAchievement) (1989), William R. Sanford, Carl R. Green, Muhammad Ali (Sports Immortals) (1993), John Stravinsky, Muhammad Ali: Biography (Biographies from A&E) (1997). Outstanding accounts of particular events in Ali's life and career are Norman Mailer's book about the return bout with Forman in Zaire, The Fight (1997), and Suzanne Freedman, Clay v. United States: Muhammad Ali Objects to War (1997). Recent articles on Ali have appeared in The Boston Globe (Oct. 1, 1984, Jan. 17, 1992), Newsweek (June 22, 1987), New York Daily News (Feb. 2, 1989), New York Post (July 14, 1987), New York Times Magazine (July 17, 1988), Philadelphia Inquirer (Aug. 12, 1990), Spin (Oct. 1991), USA Today (Feb. 25, 1994), and Washington Post (June 9, 1991).

boxer

Personal Information

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January, 17, 1942, in Louisville, KY; name changed to Muhammad Ali, 1963; son of Cassius (a piano player) and Odessa Clay; first wife, Sonji Roy; second wife, Belinda Boyd; third wife, Veronica Porche; married fourth wife, Yolanda "Lonnie" Williams, 1986; children: seven daughters, two sons.

Career

Boxer, 1960-81; humanitarian. Began professional boxing career, 1960; first became heavyweight champ, 1964; boxing record: 56 wins, 5 losses, with 37 knockouts.

Life's Work

Three-time world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, known for his lyrical charm and boasts as much as for his powerful fists, has moved far beyond the boxing ring in both influence and purpose. Ali won an Olympic gold medal in 1960 and later tossed it into a river because he was disgusted by racism in America. As a young man he was recruited by Malcolm X to join the Nation of Islam. He refused to serve in Vietnam--a professional fighter willing to serve time in jail for his pacifist ideals. He has contributed to countless, diverse charities and causes. And his later years have found him interested in world politics as he has battled to keep Parkinson's disease at bay.

Born to Box

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on January 17, 1942, and was raised in a clapboard house at 3302 Grand Avenue in middle-class Louisville, Kentucky. He began boxing at the age of 12. A white Louisville patrolman named Joe Martin, who had an early television show called "Tomorrow's Champions," started Ali working out in Louisville's Columbia Gym, but it was a black trainer named Fred Stoner who taught Ali the science of boxing. Stoner taught him to move with the grace of a dancer, and impressed upon him the subtle skills necessary to move beyond good and into the realm of great.

After winning an Olympic gold medal at 18, Ali signed the most lucrative contract--a 50-50 split--negotiated by a beginning professional in the history of boxing, with a 12-member group of millionaires called the Louisville Sponsoring Group. Later, he worked his way into contention for the coveted heavyweight title shot by boasting and creating media interest at a time when, by his own admission, he was only ranked number nine on the list of contenders. Even from the beginning, it was clear that Ali was his own man--quick, strong-willed, original, and witty. In 1961 he told Sports Illustrated's Gilbert Rogin, "Boxing is dying because everybody's so quiet.... What boxing needs is more...Clays." Ali knew that his rhymes and press-grabbing claims would infuse more interest and more money into the sport of boxing, and he was his own best public relations man. In February of 1964 he told readers of Sports Illustrated, "If I were like a lot of...heavyweight boxers...you wouldn't be reading this story right now. If you wonder what the difference between them and me is, I'll break the news: you never heard of them. I'm not saying they're not good boxers. Most of them...can fight almost as good as I can. I'm just saying you never heard of them. And the reason for that is because they cannot throw the jive. Cassius Clay is a boxer who can throw the jive better than anybody."

The following month Ali--then still known by the name Cassius Clay--fought Sonny Liston in a match of classic contenders for the heavyweight championship of the world. The Miami fight almost single-handedly restored intelligence and balance to boxing. Cassius Clay had been chanting the war cry "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" for weeks; he beat Liston in a display of beautiful, controlled boxing. Liston could hit with deadly power, but Ali utilized his skills and courage with forethought and aplomb. He won the fight to become heavyweight champion of the world. At the tender age of 22 Ali knew that he was something above and beyond a great boxer: He had marketing sense, political finesse, and a feeling of noble purpose.

Committed to Political Ideals

Throughout his career and life, Ali has always professed to want to help other black Americans--and he has, time and time again. When he returned from Italy, having just won an Olympic gold medal, he was so proud of his trophy that he wore it day and night and showed it to everyone, whether they wanted to see it or not. In the Philadelphia Inquirer Ali's first wife remembered him saying "I was young, black Cassius Marcellus Clay, who had won a gold medal for his country. I went to downtown Louisville to a five-and-dime store that had a soda fountain. I sat down at the counter to order a burger and soda pop. The waitress looked at me.... 'Sorry, we don't serve coloreds,' she said. I was furious. I went all the way to Italy to represent my country, won a gold medal, and now I come back to America and can't even get served at a five-and-dime store. I went to a bridge, tore the medal off my neck and threw it into the river. That gold medal didn't mean a thing to me if my black brothers and sisters were treated wrong in a country I was supposed to represent."

While in Miami, at the age of 21, Ali was inspired by human rights activist Malcolm X to become a member of the Muslim faith. The following year Malcolm X said of Ali, as was quoted by Houston Horn in Sports Illustrated, "[He] will mean more to his people than any athlete before him. He is more than [first black major-league baseball player] Jackie Robinson was, because Robinson is the white man's hero. But Cassius is the black man's hero. Do you know why? Because the white press wanted him to lose [his heavyweight championship bout]...because he is a Muslim. You notice nobody cares about the religion of other athletes. But their prejudice against Clay blinded them to his ability." Twelve years later, on Face The Nation, Ali said "We don't have Black Muslims, that's a press word. We have white brothers, we have brown, red, and yellow, all colors can be Muslims.... I'm looking for peace one day with all people." Cassius Clay, Jr., was given the name Muhammad Ali by Muslim patriarch Elijah Muhammad; it was not just a name, but a title meaning "beloved of Allah," deity of the Muslim faith.

Ali retained his world heavyweight champion title in June of 1965 by again knocking out Sonny Liston, this time with a stunning right-hand punch to the side of the head. The knock-out blow was thrown with the astounding speed that separated Ali from other heavyweights; it had sufficient force to lift Liston's left foot--upon which most of his weight was resting--clear off the canvas.

As a Muslim and thus a conscientious objector, Muhammad Ali refused to even consider going to Vietnam when he was drafted in 1966. His refusal brought a tremendous public outcry against him. According to Jack Olsen in Sports Illustrated, "The governor of Illinois found Clay 'disgusting,' and the governor of Maine said Clay 'should be held in utter contempt by every patriotic American.' An American Legion post in Miami asked people to 'join in condemnation of this unpatriotic, loudmouthed, bombastic individual.' The Chicago Tribune waged a choleric campaign against holding the next Clay fight in Chicago.... The noise became a din, the drumbeats of a holy war. TV and radio commentators, little old ladies...bookmakers, and parish priests, armchair strategists at the Pentagon and politicians all over the place joined in a crescendo of get-Cassius clamor."

Although Ali had not been charged or arrested for violating the Selective Service Act--much less convicted--the New York State Athletic Commission and World Boxing Association suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his heavyweight title in May of 1967, minutes after he officially announced that he would not submit to induction. Ali said to Sports Illustrated contributor Edwin Shrake, "I'm giving up my title, my wealth, maybe my future. Many great men have been tested for their religious beliefs. If I pass this test, I'll come out stronger than ever." Eventually Ali was sentenced to five years in prison, released on appeal, and his conviction overturned three years later.

Became the Greatest

In November of 1970 Ali fought Jerry Quarry in Atlanta. His victory was a symbol of release and freedom to the 5,000 people watching the fight; Ali had personally survived his vilification by much of the American public, but more, he had reclaimed his professional reputation and prominence. Four months later Ali had the world as his audience when he went up against Joe Frazier in the Philippines city of Manila. There he fell from invincibility; suddenly Frazier reigned as heavyweight champ. "Man, I hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city," Frazier said to Mark Kram in Sports Illustrated. Ali responded, "It was like death. Closest thing to dyin' that I know of." On September 10, 1973, Frazier won a rematch with Ken Norton and continued to reign as heavyweight champion. Returning with a vengeance, however, Ali fought Frazier again in 1974, won the match, and replaced his competitor as the world heavyweight champion. Ali fought Frazier once again in October of 1975, won that match, and secured his title. Taking time to reflect on the tumult of his fifteen-year boxing career, Ali co-wrote his autobiography--characteristically titled The Greatest: My Own Story--in 1975.

In 1982 Dr. Dennis Cope, director of the Medical Ambulatory Care Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, began treating Ali for Parkinson's syndrome. Cope and colleague Dr. Stanley Fahn later theorized in the Chicago Tribune that Ali was suffering, more precisely, from Pugilistic Parkinsonism, brought on by repetitive trauma to the head--and that only an autopsy could confirm their suspicions. After losing a 1980 title bout to Larry Holmes, Ali had exhibited sluggishness and was misdiagnosed as having a thyroid condition; he was given a thyroid hormone. When Dr. Cope made the connection between Ali's decreasing motor skills and Parkinson's disease, he prescribed Sinemet (L-dopa). Ali was shortly restored to his previous level of energy and awareness; as long as he took his medication regularly, he was able to keep the disease in check. In 1988 Ali told New York Times Magazine contributor Peter Tauber: "I've got Parkinson's syndrome. I'm in no pain.... If I was in perfect health--if I had won my last two fights--if I had no problem, people would be afraid of me. Now they feel sorry for me. They thought I was Superman. Now they can say 'He's human, like us. He has problems.'"

In 1984 another of Ali's medical confidantes, Dr. Martin D. Ecker, ventured in the Boston Globe that Ali should have quit boxing long before he finally did--for the second and final time--in 1981 after losing to Trevor Berbick. His bout with Berbick was his 61st and final fight. By then Ali had been showing signs of neurological damage for over a year. Ali's former doctor, Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, told the fighter to quit in 1977 when he first saw signs of Ali's reflexes slowing down. Seven years later, Pacheco, a consultant and boxing commentator for NBC-TV, explained to Betsy Lehman in the Boston Globe why he feels Ali didn't quit boxing in 1977: "The most virulent infection in the human race is the standing ovation. Once you've seen that, you can't get off the stage. Once you feel that recognition...the roar of 50,000 people, you just don't want to give it up." When Ali initially surrendered his title in 1979, he was paid $250,000 to quit, but he eventually returned to his sport, perhaps as Pacheco suggested, because the recognition had become habit-forming.

Elder Statesman of Boxing

Toward the end of Ali's boxing career, and afterward, his ambitions took a decided turn toward statesmanship. In 1980 he cast his lot with the Democratic Party, supporting then-Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter. In August of that year, while in intense training for the Holmes fight, he found time to work the floor of the Democratic National Convention in New York City. He also functioned as something of a diplomat in February of 1985 when he attempted to secure the release of four kidnapped Americans in Lebanon; unfortunately, he and his three advisers were not successful.

During his career in the ring Ali made more than $50 million, two thirds of which went to managerial expenses and taxes. He said to New York Times Magazine contributor Tauber in 1988, "I never talk about boxing. It just served its purpose. I was only about 11 or 12 years old when I said 'I'm gonna get famous so I can help my people.'" Indicating his continuing desire to help people, in 1990 Ali visited Our Children's Foundation, Inc., on Manhattan's 125th Street. According to Bill Gallo in the New York Daily News, he addressed the children there, saying, "The sun has a purpose. The moon has a purpose. The snow has a purpose. Cows have a purpose. You were born for a purpose. You have to find your purpose. Go to school. Learn to read and write.... What is your purpose, your occupation? Find your purpose.... What do you have to find?" "Purpose!," they shouted gleefully in unison. True to form, one of Ali's favored inscriptions when signing autographs is "Love is the net where hearts are caught like fish."

Although Parkinson's syndrome has slowed Ali down, he still remains active--raising money for the Muhammad Ali Foundation and frequently appearing at sports tributes and fund-raisers. Muhammad's wife Lonnie believes "Muhammad knows he has this illness for a reason. It's not by chance. Parkinson's disease has made him a more spiritual person. Muhammad believes God gave it to him to bring him to another level, to create another destiny," she stated in People.

During the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, 3.5 billion people watched on television as three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali slowly ascended the stadium steps with trembling hands to ignite the Olympic Flame. Everyone was deeply touched, though no one more so than Ali himself. "He kept turning it [the torch] in his hands and looking at it. He knows now that people won't slight his message because of his impairment." said his wife Lonnie in People.

Ali has been blessed to meet with important dignitaries over the years, including with President Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, and the late Pope John Paul II. His travels are his main source of income, as he charges as much as $200,000 for appearances. He usually travels 275 days out of the year. Although he enjoys his missionary work and public appearances, Ali's greatest pleasure is when he is at home in Berrien Springs, Michigan, with his family--wife Yolanda and his adopted son Asaad Amin.

In Berrien Springs, he lives a modest life in a house at the end of the road on an old farm. He has a pool and a pond and a security gate with an intercom. According to Kim Forburger, Ali's assistant, "He's the only man I know where the kids come to the gate and say 'Can Muhammad come out and play?'" When asked if he has any regrets, Ali responds, "My children, I never got to raise them because I was always boxing and because of divorce," he said in People. When asked whether he is sorry he ever got into the ring, he responded, "If I wasn't a boxer, I wouldn't be famous. If I wasn't famous, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing now."

Even into the 2000s, Ali's legacy lives on in a number of ways. In November, 2005, after years of preparation, the Muhammad Ali Center was opened in Louisville, Kentucky. The MAC is both a museum celebrating Ali's life and career and--at Ali's request--a forum for sharing his ideals and beliefs, and for promoting respect, hope, and understanding. Ali has been the subject of numerous books and film tributes over the years, including the 1997 documentary When We Were Kings, but none were more spectacular than the 2003 publication GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali, a giant (20-inches square, weighing 75 pounds, and costing $3,000) tribute to Ali's entire career; the title GOAT stands for "Greatest of All Time." The work that is closest to Ali's own heart is his memoir The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflection's on Life's Journey, which he wrote with the help of his daughter, Hana Yasmeen Ali.

Awards

Olympic Gold Medal in boxing, 1960; six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles; National Golden Gloves titles, 1959-60; World Heavyweight Championship, 1964-67, 1974-78, 1978-79; U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, inductee, 1983; named the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, Ring Magazine, 1987; International Boxing Hall of Fame, inductee, 1990; Jim Thorpe Pro Sports Award, Lifetime Achievement, 1992; Muhammad Ali Museum, Louisville Galleria, opened 1995; Essence Award, 1997; Arthur Ashe Award for Courage to All, ESPN (Espy) Award, 1997; Service to America Leadership Award, National Association of Broadcasters Foundation, 2001.

Works

Selected works

Books

• (With Richard Durham) The Greatest: My Own Story, Random House, 1975.
• Ali! Ali! The Words of Muhammad Ali, edited by Sultan Karim, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979.
• (With Thomas Hauser) Healing, Collins Publishers San Francisco, 1996.
• I Am the Greatest: The Best Quotations from Muhammed Ali, Andrews McMeel, 2002.
• (With Hana Yasmeen Ali) Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey, Simon & Schuster, 2004.

Films

• The Greatest, 1977.

Further Reading

Books

• Early, Gerald, ed., The Muhammad Ali Reader, Ecco Press, 1998.
• GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali, Taschen, 2003.
• Kram, Mark, Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, HarperCollins, 2001.
• Miller, Davis, The Tao of Muhammad Ali, Warner Books, 1996.
• Muhammad Ali (photographs), Harry N. Abrams, 2004.
• Myers, Walter Dean, The Greatest: Muhammad Ali, Scholastic, 2001.
• Pacheco, Ferdie, Muhammad Ali: A View from the Corner, Birch Lane Press, 1992.
• Remnick, David, King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero, Random House, 1998.

Periodicals

• Atlanta Journal and Constitution, December 13, 1988.
• Boston Globe, October 1, 1984.
• Chicago Tribune, October 9, 1984.
• Ebony, April 1969.
• Face the Nation (transcript of CBS-TV program), May 2, 1976.
• Interview, February 1, 2004.
• Jet, July 2, 2001.
• Newsweek, June 22, 1987.
• New York Daily News, February 2, 1989.
• New York Post, July 14, 1987.
• New York Times Magazine, July 17, 1988.
• People, Jan 13, 1997, p. 40.
• Philadelphia Inquirer, August 12, 1990.
• Spin, October 1991.
• Sports Illustrated, December 20, 1976; April 25, 1988.
• Time, December 13, 2004.
• Washington Post, June 9, 1991.

On-line

• GOAT, www.taschen-goat.com/index1.html (June 8, 2005).
• Muhammad Ali, www.ali.com (June 8, 2005).
• Muhammad Ali Center, www.alicenter.org/heart/index.shtml (June 8, 2005).
• Muhammad Ali: The Making of a Champ, www.courier-journal.com/ali/ (June 8, 2005).

Other

• Ali (film), 2001.
• When We Were Kings (documentary film), 1997.

— By B. Kimberly Taylor and Tom Pendergast

For more information on Muhammad Ali, visit Britannica.com.

(1942- ), boxer and spokesman for the Nation of Islam. The increasing militancy of African-American politics during the 1960s coincided with the transformation of Olympic gold medalist Cassius Marcellus Clay into Muhammad Ali, the most controversial and widely known of all heavyweight boxing champions. Born into a black working-class family in Louisville, Kentucky, Clay experienced the racial restrictions that fueled the civil rights protests of the late 1950s and 1960s. As a youngster, he resented being named after a white man, albeit an abolitionist. When he read news of the 1955 racial murder in Mississippi of Emmett Till, a black youngster about his age, he reacted angrily, hurling stones at an uncle sam wants you poster.

He learned to box while a teenager, and his exceptional skills quickly became evident. By 1959 he had won a national Golden Gloves championship. Following his success as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic boxing team, he signed a professional contract with Louisville promoters and soon became a contender for the heavyweight boxing crown. Brashly outspoken about racial issues, he also bragged about his pugilistic ability, often proclaiming, "I am the greatest." His facile rhymes and sometimes accurate knockout predictions attracted the attention of boxing fans.

As he was perfecting his boxing and promotional skills, he became affiliated with the Nation of Islam, an all-black religious group, often labeled the Black Muslims, led by Elijah Muhammad. He became close friends with the Nation's best-known spokesman, Malcolm X, but remained loyal to Elijah Muhammad after Malcolm's 1964 break with him. Recognizing that the Nation of Islam was notorious because of its advocacy of black self-defense and racial separatism, Clay kept his affiliation with the group secret until February 1964, when he defeated Sonny Liston and became heavyweight champion. He then announced his religious ties and stated that he had rejected his "slave" name in favor of the new name Muhammad Ali.

For a decade thereafter, Ali remained at the center of controversy. Many reporters and boxing officials continued to refer to him as Cassius Clay and some even demanded that his title be withdrawn. The hostility increased when he refused in 1967 to be inducted into the army, citing the fact that his religion forbade him from doing so. Government officials were unwilling to accept his claim that he was a lay Islamic minister, especially when he made clear his lack of sympathy for the war in Vietnam. "I ain't got no quarrel with the Vietcong," he explained. Although he indicated that he was simply responding to religious imperatives, Ali became a widely admired symbol of black pride and militancy because of his consistent unwillingness to back down in the face of threats from white authorities. Stripped of his title after being indicted for refusing induction, he was later convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. In June 1970, however, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction. In 1974, Ali gained further vindication when he defeated George Foreman and regained the title that had been taken from him.

Although Ali's activities in the years after 1974 were not as controversial as they had once been, he remained an internationally known public figure. After his retirement from boxing during the late 1970s, he developed Parkinson's syndrome, a condition that severely restricted his once extensive public-speaking activities.

Bibliography:

Muhammad Ali, with Richard Durham, The Greatest: My Own Story (1975); Henry Hampton and Steve Fayer, Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s (1990).

Author:

Clayborne Carson

See also Spectator Sports.

(məhăm'əd älē') , 1942–, American boxer, b. Louisville, Ky. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, he was a 1960 Olympic gold medalist. Shortly after upsetting Sonny Liston in 1964 to become world heavyweight champion, he formalized his association with the Nation of Islam (see Black Muslims) and adopted the Muslim name Muhammad Ali.

Ali's flamboyant boxing style and outspoken stances on social issues made him a controversial figure during the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s. After beating Liston, he defended his title nine times, brashly proclaiming himself the “greatest of all time.” In 1967 he refused induction into the armed services and became a symbol of resistance to the Vietnam War. The boxing establishment stripped Ali of his title and prevented him from fighting until the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971 upheld his draft appeal on religious grounds. Before retiring in 1981 Ali compiled a 56–5 record and became the only man to ever win the heavyweight crown three times. His fights with Joe Frazier and George Foreman were among boxing's biggest events.

In retirement, Ali has remained one of the most recognized of all world figures. The 1984 revelation that he suffered from Parkinson's disease renewed debate over the negative effects of boxing. His appearance at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, to light the Olympic flame, moved an international audience.

Bibliography

See T. Hauser, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times (1991); D. Remnick, King of the World (1998).

(ah-lee)

An African-American boxer of the twentieth century, who was world champion in the heavyweight class for several years between 1964 and 1979. He was known in his boxing career for his flamboyant personality and aggressive self-promotion, as well as for his superior boxing ability and style. His boxing strategy, he said, was to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” A Black Muslim, Ali was originally named Cassius Clay. After he refused for reasons of conscience to serve in the armed forces in the 1960s, several boxing associations revoked his title as world champion, but he regained it later. During his boxing career he was extremely popular in Africa, and after his retirement he traveled there as a goodwill ambassador.

Quotes:

"Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are."

"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest."

"Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even."

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was."

"When you are as great as I am it is hard to be humble."

"The man who has no imagination has no wings."

See more famous quotes by Muhammad Ali