RIP Ali

[NashvilleDevil]

Muhammad Ali has passed away. RIP to The Greatest

[mattman91]

So sad.

The greatest. RIP.

[Tripping William]

Even the butterflies and bees are in mourning. He was one of a kind.

[OldPhiKap]

I bet he is hanging with Howard Cosell as we speak. He was The Greatest.

[moonpie23]

RIP "The Greatest"....sad loss...

My older brother was a Sonny Liston fan, big time. I was a Clay fan....it was tense...

[budwom]

RIP "The Greatest"...sad loss...

My older brother was a Sonny Liston fan, big time. I was a Clay fan...it was tense...

I remember those days well, but I'm not sure I ever met a Sonny Liston fan. Lots of fans who thought he'd kill Clay/Ali, but he
wasn't particularly lovable. Growing up near NYC, I remember how often Cosell had Clay as a guest on his local (WABC?) TV show...very
entertaining, something pretty revolutionary for a heavyweight boxer, a guy who could verbally entertain all day long.

[jimsumner]

I remember those days well, but I'm not sure I ever met a Sonny Liston fan. Lots of fans who thought he'd kill Clay/Ali, but he
wasn't particularly lovable. Growing up near NYC, I remember how often Cosell had Clay as a guest on his local (WABC?) TV show...very
entertaining, something pretty revolutionary for a heavyweight boxer, a guy who could verbally entertain all day long.

I agree on Liston. He didn't exactly send out warm and fuzzy vibes.

And lots of folks did think he would just brutalize Clay/Ali.

[gotoguy]

I stopped in the C-I after a study stint at Perkins the night of the Ali-Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" October 1974. The C-I was pretty crowded and I was drinking a beer or eating some yogurt...I dont recall, when a student burst through the front doors and shouted, "Aleeeeee!!!!" The C-I broke into a cheer approaching the level of those heard in Cameron. The memory always makes me smile.

Rest in Peace, Champ and thanks.

[DukeDevil]

Out of curiosity, why are people referring to him as Clay/Ali? I realize he started his career with his birth name but he chose to reject Cassius Clay for a multitude of reasons, and it seems disrespectful to refer to him as such. Nobody is going to be confused when he's referred to as Ali for fights he fought under his birth name.

[weezie]

Out of curiosity, why are people referring to him as Clay/Ali? ...

A few years ago, my husband gave me a boxing glove signed by both Cassius Clay AND Muhammad Ali.
It's damned cool.

[NashvilleDevil]

Out of curiosity, why are people referring to him as Clay/Ali? I realize he started his career with his birth name but he chose to reject Cassius Clay for a multitude of reasons, and it seems disrespectful to refer to him as such. Nobody is going to be confused when he's referred to as Ali for fights he fought under his birth name.

Maybe they're remembering this scene?

[Ggallagher]

About twenty years or so ago, I stood nose to nose with Ali. It was a very memorable experience although it was in fact kind of sad.

I was changing planes in Atlanta and there was a mob of folks blocking one of the escalators down to the trains. I was chasing a pretty close connection so I kind of shouldered my way into the group since no one was moving. They were just milling around blocking the access to the escalator. When I finally made it through the crowd, there were just three people standing at the top of the escalator. As I was about to tap the man in the middle of the group and ask if I could get by, I heard them discussing whether they should take the elevator instead of the escalator. At that moment they apparently decided to go to the escalator, and the guy in the middle wheeled around - and I was literally nose to nose with Ali. Seeing that face from that vantage was one of the most memorable "famous person" encounters I had during the forty or so years of my career that involved WAY to much time on airplanes and in airports.

It was probably a good thing that I didn't actually tap him on the shoulder and startle him or anything. Some of the folks that faced him like that had a kind of painful experience as I recall.

Sorry that he's gone now.

[sagegrouse]

About twenty years or so ago, I stood nose to nose with Ali. It was a very memorable experience although it was in fact kind of sad.

I was changing planes in Atlanta and there was a mob of folks blocking one of the escalators down to the trains. I was chasing a pretty close connection so I kind of shouldered my way into the group since no one was moving. They were just milling around blocking the access to the escalator. When I finally made it through the crowd, there were just three people standing at the top of the escalator. As I was about to tap the man in the middle of the group and ask if I could get by, I heard them discussing whether they should take the elevator instead of the escalator. At that moment they apparently decided to go to the escalator, and the guy in the middle wheeled around - and I was literally nose to nose with Ali. Seeing that face from that vantage was one of the most memorable "famous person" encounters I had during the forty or so years of my career that involved WAY to much time on airplanes and in airports.

It was probably a good thing that I didn't actually tap him on the shoulder and startle him or anything. Some of the folks that faced him like that had a kind of painful experience as I recall.

Sorry that he's gone now.

I also had an encounter with Ali in the Atlanta airport. I was in the Delta courtesy lounge when Ali was brought in to give him respite before his flight. He sat next to me at the bar for a while and then went over to an area of sofas. He started performing magic tricks for the other people in the Delta club and was enjoying himself. We were there together about an hour.

The sad thing is that he really couldn't talk. He ordered a ginger ale at the bar, but I couldn't understand what he said -- although the bartender guessed right.

Then I went back to DC and told the story to my softball team. This was at least 25 years ago because the last year we played in the DC leagues was 1991. This was either that year or a year or so earlier. So, Ali lived 25+ years without being able to communicate as most of us do. Oh my!

[moonpie23]

Out of curiosity, why are people referring to him as Clay/Ali? I realize he started his career with his birth name but he chose to reject Cassius Clay for a multitude of reasons, and it seems disrespectful to refer to him as such. Nobody is going to be confused when he's referred to as Ali for fights he fought under his birth name.

the time period i referenced was when he was "clay". I was describing the contention between my older brother and me.

[Olympic Fan]

I share the admiration for Ali. I idolized him in my youth for his principled stand against the Vietnam War. Not that I agree with his religious beliefs, but I think they were sincere and worthy of protection. I've heard him called a draft dodger -- that's unfair. He hate the wealth to flee to another country to dodge the draft. Or he could have accepted the army offer to serve in a non-combat role (as Joe Louis did in WWII). Instead. he refused service and went to court to fight induction -- and after three and a half years, the Supreme Court sided with Ali against the government.

I admire him for his boxing ability -- I'm not enough of a boxing expert to judge whether he was the greatest boxer of all time ... but he's in the conversation.

But he was unquestionably the greatest athletic figure of the 20th Century -- at least when you consider world-wide impact. I once read an argument that he was the most famous, popular single figure in the history of the world. Ali couldn't walk down a street in the most remote African village or through a small town in Cambodia without being mobbed.

That said, there were things about Ali that I didn't like. You can argue that he originated the modern practice of trash-talking in sports. He was usually funny and entertaining when he did (more than his emulators), but he could be cruel too -- there is no excuse for his crude attacks on Joe Frazier.

Still, all our heroes have flaws -- and despite his flaws, Ali was a giant.

[swood1000]

I watched the special that CBS did on Ali Saturday night. It's interesting that Scott Pelley and others kept saying that Ali had "Parkinson's Disease," which is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. However, originally, Ali's physician said that he had Parkinson's Syndrome, which exhibits similar symptoms but from different causes. His physician called it "pugilistic brain syndrome," caused by injuries to the brain from fighting. It was also described this way in 1996 on 60 Minutes. It was apparently changed to Parkinson's Disease later. It really doesn't make any difference, except that perhaps a neurological disease that he had nothing to do with sounds somewhat more sympathetic.

One of my earliest memories of Ali was in 1967. I was on a bus and also on that bus were some guys who had been recently inducted and were on their way to an Army Fort, and then to Vietnam. I was way too young at that time to worry about that. They were talking about how Ali had refused induction. Mostly, their attitude was that the privileged and elite had ways to avoid having to be sent to this war. Another memory is the night of the rumble in the jungle, when he fought George Foreman. Those who could afford it could go somewhere and watch it live. The rest of us had to listen for any snippets of news that came out. We all knew that Ali had no chance to beat Foreman and we just couldn't believe it when he did.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I watched the special that CBS did on Ali Saturday night. It's interesting that Scott Pelley and others kept saying that Ali had "Parkinson's Disease," which is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. However, originally, Ali's physician said that he had Parkinson's Syndrome, which exhibits similar symptoms but from different causes. His physician called it "pugilistic brain syndrome," caused by injuries to the brain from fighting. It was also described this way in 1996 on 60 Minutes. It was apparently changed to Parkinson's Disease later. It really doesn't make any difference, except that perhaps a neurological disease that he had nothing to do with sounds somewhat more sympathetic.

One of my earliest memories of Ali was in 1967. I was on a bus and also on that bus were some guys who had been recently inducted and were on their way to an Army Fort, and then to Vietnam. I was way too young at that time to worry about that. They were talking about how Ali had refused induction. Mostly, their attitude was that the privileged and elite had ways to avoid having to be sent to this war. Another memory is the night of the rumble in the jungle, when he fought George Foreman. Those who could afford it could go somewhere and watch it live. The rest of us had to listen for any snippets of news that came out. We all knew that Ali had no chance to beat Foreman and we just couldn't believe it when he did.

It is amazing to me that given the AMOUNT of information and media dedicated to Ali in the last 48 hours, that precious little mention is made of the seemingly unavoidable connection between Ali's tragic health and death, and his chosen career. The only peep I have heard was a graphic that came up on CBS this morning that mentioned Ali had taken an estimated 26,000 blows to the head over his lifetime.

I know that we live in an age of NFL/CTE controversy, but it seems almost absurd that no one is talking about what looks like a wildly obvious angle to his tragedy. I mean, no one pretends that boxing is a healthy sport or that repeated blows to the naked head are good for you, but how can you ignore that the second half of his life was inexorably ruined by getting throttled in the ring?

[Troublemaker]

That said, there were things about Ali that I didn't like. You can argue that he originated the modern practice of trash-talking in sports. He was usually funny and entertaining when he did (more than his emulators), but he could be cruel too -- there is no excuse for his crude attacks on Joe Frazier.

Ali also had some interesting views on relationships.

In any case, I agree with you on admiring Ali despite his flaws. He certainly had my admiration.

[swood1000]

Ali also had some interesting views on relationships.

In any case, I agree with you on admiring Ali despite his flaws. He certainly had my admiration.

Those views are standard Nation of Islam beliefs, including:

• We believe that intermarriage or race mixing should be prohibited. We want the religion of Islam taught without hindrance or suppression.

• WE BELIEVE that the offer of integration is hypocritical and is made by those who are trying to deceive the black peoples into believing that their 400-year-old open enemies of freedom, justice and equality are, all of a sudden, their “friends.” Furthermore, we believe that such deception is intended to prevent black people from realizing that the time in history has arrived for the separation from the whites of this nation.

[DukieInKansas]

I met him, briefly, in Seoul in 1976. His question to me was "How tall are you, anyway?". I remember thinking he wasn't as big as I was expecting.

(I was 16 and didn't think of myself as extremely tall - only 5'9" or so.)