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Post by alum on Jun 4, 2016 6:16:55 GMT -5
Sad news as a sports icon from my childhood is gone. The obit in the Times is as lengthy as one for a world leader. I read that they ordered flags lowered to half staff in his home town of Louisville. Imagine that. A man convicted of being a draft dodger (overturned by SOCTUS) receives such an honor in death. Race relations have improved in this country and athletes from Robinson to Russell to Ali to Jordan to Tiger have all played a role. Sports matters.
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Post by sarasota on Jun 4, 2016 6:35:13 GMT -5
In the late 60's Ali was free on bail in connection with his court case for refusing to serve in the military. He made a living by speaking on college campuses. He spoke at Iona College where I was teaching. I got up close. I was surprised that he appeared to be of moderate size and wore a sensational tailored suit. Lurking behind a column nearby was a weasel like figure, Howard Cosell. In those days, Cosell shadowed Ali everywhere. Ali was Cosell's pet project. RIP to a one of a kind great athlete.
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Post by rgs318 on Jun 4, 2016 7:55:03 GMT -5
When I saw him in person (the only time), it was at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in NYC. He held an outdoor press conference with Rev. Louis Farakan. The "Fruit of Islam" provided security (complete with black bow ties). Ali, even then, was a most impressive figure. He did speak briefly. What most struck me was theft that no one wanted to say he had Parkinson's Disease. Instead they simply referred to his "parkinson-like symptoms." He was a marvelous champion and a great man. I did not agree with all of his positions but I always respected him. (Perhaps that was because he won me a 30-1 bet with a member of the HC Football team on his first fight with Sonny Liston.) May his soul rest in peace.
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 4, 2016 7:59:13 GMT -5
He outlived his arch-rival, Joe Frazier, but he didn't slip enough punches in his career despite "floating like a butterfly, while stinging like a bee."
He fought the law . . . . and won. He was more than just a sports legend.
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Post by rgs318 on Jun 4, 2016 8:20:26 GMT -5
The "rope-a-dope" he used to show opponents their punches could not effect him proved to be an unwise move in the long run. He will be missed.
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Jun 4, 2016 15:47:51 GMT -5
Oh how I loved his fights and pressers as a kid! Despite his religious/political issues with the Vietnam War, Ali was without question one of the most charismatic sports figures of all time, and definitely the Greatest of them All! R.I.P. - you will be missed!
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Post by sarasota on Jun 4, 2016 18:52:57 GMT -5
Maybe the Ali era in boxing was what it was like when Babe Ruth was playing. Just speculating.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 4, 2016 19:17:45 GMT -5
I believe Ali's mother was a house keeper for a member of the family that has had majority ownership of my company since its founding. Tne company had corporate planes in the 1960's and it is said that Ali flew to many of his early fights on one of our planes.
Mr. Clay was a sign painter and until just recently some of his work could still be seen--painted signs on the walls of stores or restaurants in the West End. I've never been by Ali's childhood home but it can't be far from where I work in the West End of Louisville
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Post by beaven302 on Jun 5, 2016 11:03:02 GMT -5
I did not agree with all of his positions but I always respected him. (Perhaps that was because he won me a 30-1 bet with a member of the HC Football team on his first fight with Sonny Liston. May his soul rest in peace. Were you ever paid? I was this football player's roommate, and at the time, I was under the impression that he had welshed on the bet.
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Post by rgs318 on Jun 5, 2016 11:10:39 GMT -5
Yes, partially. He made 3 payments and said "I think this should cover it." (It was about $10 in all.) I said, OK. I originally made the bet only because he had been spouting off so much about how Clay never stood a chance. I claim it as a moral victory.
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Post by beaven302 on Jun 5, 2016 14:51:00 GMT -5
Thanks, this clears up a 52-year-old mystery. In defense of a certain football player, all the so-called experts gave the future Ali no chance at all. I recall listening to the fight on the radio, expecting Liston to obliterate his youthful opponent at any moment the way he did to Floyd Patterson. My skepticism over many of the prognostications of sports "experts" dates from this fight.
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Post by rgs318 on Jun 5, 2016 19:58:03 GMT -5
I agree that few thought Clay (later Ali) could beat the awesome Liston. I had seen him fight and believed he (1) could take a punch - but more likely would avoid them, and (2) he had a powerful punch, hence a "puncher's chance." I also liked the odds of 30-1. I figured it was worth risking a dollar to get the person to quiet down. I hope he is well.
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Post by Chu Chu on Jun 7, 2016 13:37:05 GMT -5
I remember listening to this fight on the radio as well. It was amazing. Ali was a great man who did our country a favor with his principled actions to divest himself of his "slave name" and his refusal to participate in the war. History has proven him prescient.
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