There are many names that come to mind when one tries to decide who might be the greatest sports figure of all time. Michael Jordan, Joe DiMaggio, and others routinely come to mind but perhaps no sports figure has impacted culture and society in the United States more than the boxer formerly known as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., Muhammad Ali. Today, at age 57, Ali suffers from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease. However, as he has done for more than four decades Ali continues to be a source of inspiration, a symbol of what is possible from hard work, talent and perseverance in America, and a figure of controversy.
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in Louisville Kentucky on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Barely past his first decade of life, Clay, Jr. became introduced to boxing and began mounting a successful amateur boxing career which saw him win both the National AAU and Golden Gloves Championships. Clay, Jr.’s interest in boxing was spurred by the theft of his beloved bicycle when he was only 12 years old. The young Clay, Jr. was determined to dedicate himself to building both his mind and body but even someone with Clay, Jr.’s determination would have found it difficult to foresee his eventual success in the sport, “A Golden Gloves champion at age 17, an Olympic gold medallist at age 18, an undefeated heavyweight champion at age 22” (The boxer, 1999, 1).
Clay, Jr. was renown for his exuberant personality and his loquacious demeanor and media appearances. In 1960 he won the gold medal in boxing in Rome as a light-heavyweight. It would be barely four years later when Clay, Jr. threw the punch heard around the world by knocking out the then professional boxing champion of the world, Sonny Liston. Clay, Jr. was only 22 years old at this point in his career and soon after the victory over Liston he announced publicly that he was converting to the religion of Islam. It was the res...