Saturday, June 4, 2016

"Ali, Titan of Boxing and the 20th Century, Dies at 74"

NYT:  Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing champion who helped define his turbulent times as the most charismatic and controversial sports figure of the 20th century, died on Friday. He was 74.

His death was confirmed by Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman.

Ali was the most thrilling if not the best heavyweight ever, carrying into the ring a physically lyrical, unorthodox boxing style that fused speed, agility and power more seamlessly than that of any fighter before him.

But he was more than the sum of his athletic gifts. An agile mind, a buoyant personality, a brash self-confidence and an evolving set of personal convictions fostered a magnetism that the ring alone could not contain. He entertained as much with his mouth as with his fists, narrating his life with a patter of inventive doggerel. (“Me! Wheeeeee!”)

20 comments:

chickelit said...

My first radar blip: Mid 60's -- I recall hearing of a fight between Cassius Clay and ? ca. 1965-66. This was b/w TV. I must have been 5 or 6.

My last radar blip: Ali was upset about something Obama-instigated.

Peace be upon him

Shouting Thomas said...

I don't do celebrity obits.

Don 't blame me. I don't pimp my weblog very often.

chickelit said...

Love your blog, ST. But it's too much hassle to comment there.

Shouting Thomas said...

Sorry about that, but when my comments were unmoderated, I got snowed under by porn spam disguised as comments.

I had to watch the damned thing all day long. Couldn't manage it.

edutcher said...

People liked him better when he was Cassius Clay.

Dad Bones said...

Ali and Trump. It occurs to me this morning that they're very much alike.

AllenS said...

Float like a butterfly,
sting like a bee,
die too early,
from punches received

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

His headstone - via Drudge

'It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound sand. I beat people up'...

ndspinelli said...

I don't know, but I think Ali may have stolen that from Richard Pryor. Back when Leon Spinks, a dumber than a bag o' hammers boxer, was champ, Pryor had a bit about "Brother Leon." Pryor showed empathy for the dull witted Spinks. He said, "Look, Brother Leon is a boxer, not a doctor or plumber. Ask Leon what he does for a living and he'll tell you, 'I knock motherfuckers out!'

The left adored Ali. "Ain't no Viet Cong ever called me Nigger!" The left vilified Joe Frazier. It was patently unfair.

ricpic said...

The obits won't even downplay what a shock Cassius Clay's "I'm the greatest" schtick was when he first broke into the limelight, they simply won't mention it. But at the time it was deeply resented. He basically crapped on the generally accepted code of behavior for men -- you don't boast. All gone now. I'm sure he was a great fighter. He may have been an even more significant cultural figure, as in "Get out of the way old man, it's our turn now" which Ali symbolized to the baby boomers who won the culture war and have written the history books.

Trooper York said...

Sorry he passed but I was not a fan. So I have nothing to say.

chickelit said...

Sorry he passed but I was not a fan. So I have nothing to say

Ali would have made a great PA announcer. They do believe in hell don't they?

Trooper York said...

Nah. I can't say nuthin. There is a famous saying that applies.

William said...

It's the day of his death and not the appropriate time to bring up his flaws. Besides, his skills and courage in the boxing ring were truly the stuff of legend....He was the originator of the Obama coalition. The blacks loved him and the whites who admired him probably outnumbered those who despised him. The majority of Americans were thus in his camp.......Larry Holmes was boring and Mike Tyson was evil. Ali was the greatest heavyweight of my lifetime.......You don't measure greatness strictly in skills and abilities or even character, but in glamour, wit, good looks, ease under the klieg lights and many other undefinable qualities. Ali had those qualities........In my youth Mickey Mantle was the preeminent Yankee hero. Yogi Berra was the clutch hitter and probably the MVP on the team, but Mantle was the hero. The team even included a few genuine WWII heroes like Hank Bauer and Ralph Houk, but Mantle was the hero.......Ali had that hero quality. He could bask in the spotlight, draw nourishment from it, and then kindle his own lights.

Rabel said...

How has boxing survived the anti-concussion mania? The whole point of the game is to knock the other guy out, isn't it?

AllenS said...

If you outlawed boxing because of the concussion stuff, black unemployment would go up significantly.

William said...

I think everyone in boxing knew the risks going in. There was a kind of informal informed consent when you strapped on the gloves. Football players knew that their knees were doomed, but this brain damage crap is something new and not something football players had bargained on going in.

ndspinelli said...

I disagree. I got kicked in the head playing high school football. It was 1968. I had a blowout fracture of my right orbital bone and a severe concussion. I saw double for months. I remember distinctly the doctor telling my parents I was much more likely to suffer another concussion and the cumulative effect of head blows could be just like a boxer. Almost 50 years ago. I was just a high school varsity football player. A nobody. I knew.

virgil xenophon said...

@ndspinelli/

My cousin played HS defensive tackle at Culver Mil academy in Indiana and got a severe concussion as a soph and never played another down. Smart guy..

ndspinelli said...

virgil, I suffered the injury during the middle of the season my Jr. year. I was out the rest of that season. I wore a patch over my eye for months and everyone started calling me "pirate." I then had to where prism glasses like those ones Hillary wore after her fall. I was then of course called, "Mr. Magoo."

When it came time my Sr. year to decide whether to play my folks left it up to me. I knew my mom wanted me to sit out. But, she came from a tough family of 13 kids and was not a coddler. So, she said to make up my own mind. I decided to play. Your cousin is obviously much smarter than I! They put a birdcage face mask on my helmet to protect my eye, and put extra padding in the helmet. Back then, helmets were just one bar if you were a position player and 2 bars for lineman. The padding was minimal. I did not get another concussion. I played OT and all special teams. However, the past game of the season I separated my right shoulder. I was a pitcher/3B and baseball was my love. That ended my career. I was stupid.