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posted December 9, 2005 at 12:00 EST in Triple Crown Articles
Ali’s comes life comes full circle
by Eric Williams
Still the greatest
Just when you think you’ve got life all figured out, it sure has a funny way of throwing an unexpected left hook every now and then just to keep you on your toes doesn’t it?
Last month, legendary boxing icon and global humanitarian, Muhammad Ali, truly epitomized the meaning of one’s life “coming full circle.”
Ali, who was born Cassius Clay in 1942, returned to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky for the opening of The Muhammad Ali Center four decades after he bid adieu to a city that was dramatically divided in its affection and support of the former Olympic heavyweight champion and first three-time undisputed world heavyweight champ of the world.
In 1960, Ali, who is now 63 and struggling with Parkinson's disease, was an 18-year-old Olympic gold medalist when he returned to the United States, and more specifically, Louisville, after participating in the Olympics that year in Rome.
Ali’s illusions of grandeur - and equality - were abruptly halted when he returned to a racially divided country that was in the beginning stages of a civil rights movement that was, at that time, already long overdue.
When a triumphant Ali found out that, although he was an national Olympic hero who was adored by thousands of fans across the country, he couldn’t enter the front door of many Louisville eating establishments, he was, understandably, crushed.
The realization that his hometown was as racist as any city in the U.S. prompted Ali to abandon the only home he had ever known up to that point.
Years later, when Ali, was drafted, but refused to participate in the Vietnam War, he was vilified by many across the country, especially in the racially divided city of Louisville, where many Vietnam Veterans, to this day, have nothing but ill-will towards Ali.
Louisville native, John Ramsey, a close friend of Ali’s once said in an interview, “I don't think Louisville has done a complete 180 on Muhammad. I think we've done about a 160. There still are some Vietnam veterans and some hard-core Christians who are angry that he's a Muslim who protested the war and doesn't believe in Jesus Christ. But people do evolve. He's evolved, and we've evolved with him.”
Others have recalled a day when Ali was in town after first winning the heavyweight championship in 1964. As the story goes, many Louisville residents would not even speak to Ali, which had a profound effect on his relationship and overall views of his deeply segregated hometown.
At any rate, the opening of the Ali Center has vaporized many of the hard feelings that Ali and his hometown both held towards each other.
Longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum credited Ali with standing up for his beliefs against the Vietnam War, a sacrifice that cost him his title and three years of his prime and made him unpopular - and some would say, despised - at the time.
“It's a great feeling to know he's being respected in his hometown,” said Angelo Dundee, Ali's former trainer.
Former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis, who was on hand for the opening of the center, said he and his mother watched Ali's fights on television when Lewis was young.
“It was the beginning of me as a boxer,” the British ex-champion said.
Like Lewis, Evander Holyfield, who was also in attendance for the center’s opening, credited Ali as being a role model and some he aspired to be like when he grew up. Holyfield told a tale of being 8 years old and his boxing coach telling him he should aspire to be heavyweight champion of the world.
“I didn't even know what that was,” Holyfield said. “My coach said, `You know Muhammad Ali?' and I said yes because we heard about him in Black History Week at school.”
Ali, who was already an international icon when he illuminated the world with the Olympic torch at the Atlanta Olympics n 1996, is now viewed like he never was when he was punching his way to greatness.
“I cried,” Ramsey said about those Olympics. “A lot of people did. I don't think the tears and the applause were sympathy. They were more out of admiration for his courage.”
In a time where today’s athletes are only concerned with the size of their respective wallets, Ali spoke with conviction on topics ranging from politics to racism and equality.
Every professional athlete, regardless of sport, should be paying homage to a man who literally paved the way for them to be earning the insane amounts of money that are tossed at them so carelessly these day.
When many of today’s athletes choose to ignore many of the same meaningful issues that Ali attacked head on, they should remember that “The Greatest” has already fought their battles and walked away a unanimous winner.
The center’s dedication ceremony was based on the tenets of Ali's beliefs: Respect, Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving and Spirituality - everything he world’s greatest athlete ever stood for.
The Center's hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Eric Williams is an award-winning sports columnist for the Philadelphia Sunday Sun who is syndicated by several other newspapers across the country. He appears every Wednesday on BetUS.com radio at 3:18pm eastern. Feedback and comments can be sent to eklass66@yahoo.com.
Last month, legendary boxing icon and global humanitarian, Muhammad Ali, truly epitomized the meaning of one’s life “coming full circle.”
Ali, who was born Cassius Clay in 1942, returned to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky for the opening of The Muhammad Ali Center four decades after he bid adieu to a city that was dramatically divided in its affection and support of the former Olympic heavyweight champion and first three-time undisputed world heavyweight champ of the world.
In 1960, Ali, who is now 63 and struggling with Parkinson's disease, was an 18-year-old Olympic gold medalist when he returned to the United States, and more specifically, Louisville, after participating in the Olympics that year in Rome.
Ali’s illusions of grandeur - and equality - were abruptly halted when he returned to a racially divided country that was in the beginning stages of a civil rights movement that was, at that time, already long overdue.
When a triumphant Ali found out that, although he was an national Olympic hero who was adored by thousands of fans across the country, he couldn’t enter the front door of many Louisville eating establishments, he was, understandably, crushed.
The realization that his hometown was as racist as any city in the U.S. prompted Ali to abandon the only home he had ever known up to that point.
Years later, when Ali, was drafted, but refused to participate in the Vietnam War, he was vilified by many across the country, especially in the racially divided city of Louisville, where many Vietnam Veterans, to this day, have nothing but ill-will towards Ali.
Louisville native, John Ramsey, a close friend of Ali’s once said in an interview, “I don't think Louisville has done a complete 180 on Muhammad. I think we've done about a 160. There still are some Vietnam veterans and some hard-core Christians who are angry that he's a Muslim who protested the war and doesn't believe in Jesus Christ. But people do evolve. He's evolved, and we've evolved with him.”
Others have recalled a day when Ali was in town after first winning the heavyweight championship in 1964. As the story goes, many Louisville residents would not even speak to Ali, which had a profound effect on his relationship and overall views of his deeply segregated hometown.
At any rate, the opening of the Ali Center has vaporized many of the hard feelings that Ali and his hometown both held towards each other.
Longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum credited Ali with standing up for his beliefs against the Vietnam War, a sacrifice that cost him his title and three years of his prime and made him unpopular - and some would say, despised - at the time.
“It's a great feeling to know he's being respected in his hometown,” said Angelo Dundee, Ali's former trainer.
Former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis, who was on hand for the opening of the center, said he and his mother watched Ali's fights on television when Lewis was young.
“It was the beginning of me as a boxer,” the British ex-champion said.
Like Lewis, Evander Holyfield, who was also in attendance for the center’s opening, credited Ali as being a role model and some he aspired to be like when he grew up. Holyfield told a tale of being 8 years old and his boxing coach telling him he should aspire to be heavyweight champion of the world.
“I didn't even know what that was,” Holyfield said. “My coach said, `You know Muhammad Ali?' and I said yes because we heard about him in Black History Week at school.”
Ali, who was already an international icon when he illuminated the world with the Olympic torch at the Atlanta Olympics n 1996, is now viewed like he never was when he was punching his way to greatness.
“I cried,” Ramsey said about those Olympics. “A lot of people did. I don't think the tears and the applause were sympathy. They were more out of admiration for his courage.”
In a time where today’s athletes are only concerned with the size of their respective wallets, Ali spoke with conviction on topics ranging from politics to racism and equality.
Every professional athlete, regardless of sport, should be paying homage to a man who literally paved the way for them to be earning the insane amounts of money that are tossed at them so carelessly these day.
When many of today’s athletes choose to ignore many of the same meaningful issues that Ali attacked head on, they should remember that “The Greatest” has already fought their battles and walked away a unanimous winner.
The center’s dedication ceremony was based on the tenets of Ali's beliefs: Respect, Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving and Spirituality - everything he world’s greatest athlete ever stood for.
The Center's hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Eric Williams is an award-winning sports columnist for the Philadelphia Sunday Sun who is syndicated by several other newspapers across the country. He appears every Wednesday on BetUS.com radio at 3:18pm eastern. Feedback and comments can be sent to eklass66@yahoo.com.
