Cassius Clay

In a previous column, I wrote about sports celebrities who are now resting in peace.  I mentioned the likes of basketball legends Moses Malone, Darryl  Dawkins, Jerome Kersey,Dave  Meyers, Marques Haynes and Dolph Schayes.  Earlier, I wrote on musicians who are gone too soon including Natalie Cole, David Bowie,  Glenn Frey and Prince.  Then like a thunderbolt news on the demise of Muhammad Ali hit the newstands.  When  Ali claimed he’s the Greatest”, I could’nt disagree because I believe he’s indeed the greatest boxer to step in the ring.  I was reading a book on great Olympians by Sir Steve Redgrave, the only athlete (rowing) to win a gold medal in five consecutive Olympic  Games.  Muhammad Ali (still known as  Cassius Clay) was an 18- year old kid from Louisville,  Kentucky when he travelled to Rome for the 1960 Olympic Games, to compete in the light heavyweight division.  Despite his youth, he breezed to the finals where he met Zbigniew Pietrzykowski of Poland, a three-time European champion and veteran of 231 fights.  Clay  won the gold via a unanimous decision.  But instead of returning a hero, Clay found himself barred   from going inside restaurants since he was Black .  That started Clay’s dissillusion.  Clay said on one occasion, he stopped on a whites-only restaurant to order burgers and milkshakes but were refused.  Clay then said “ I’m Cassius Clay, the Olympic Champion, showing off his gold medal. The owner of the  resto called the waitress and said, “I don’t  give a damn who he is, I done told you, we don’t serve no niggers!” In Clay’s words everything changed.  It was said Clay walked to the middle of a bridge over the Ohio River and threw his medal into the water.  Many people have doubted the story but the medal was never seen again.  In 1964, Clay fought banger Sonny Liston in Miami  Beach and won the heavy weight title when Liston failed to leave his corner in the seventh round.  Two ddays later Clay announced his conversion to Islam  and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.  Some of  Ali’s best fiights were with Joe Frazier (thrice) and George Foreman.  Ali won 56 boxing matches while losing five in his career and his famous lines were “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”  Ali suffered from Parkinson’s disease for over 30 years.  Rest In Peace champ!

Where’s the party 

Iv’e been reading Patafa’s explanation why they are thinking  twice before sending Mary Joy Tabal to the Rio Olympics in August.  Patafa’s Marcom director Edward Kho said Tabal did’nt heed Patafa’s directive to limit running in marathons  not more than four times and in the  Ottawa marathon in Canada, she was  not there as the official representative of the country. Meaning, her trip was not sanctioned by Patafa.  I’ve been around the running scene for over four  decades now and I know Patafa is really strict when it comes to joining competitions without  getting the go-signal from the track and field  body.  If you recall, several long distance runners including Vertek  Buenavista were suspended by Patafa for joining races not sanctioned by the sports body.  I just hope Patafa will reconsider its stand but it seems Tabal  got  the ire of the officials.  All dressed up but where’s the party?

Did you know?

• MUHAMMAD ALI and GOERGE FOREMAN  were only paid $5million each by Zaire  president Mobuto Sese Seko for that “Rumble in the Jungle” fight in Kinshasa in 1974.

• ANDRE AGASSI is now seen with a shaved head.  But when he went to tennis school he was kicked out several   times for refusing to cut his hair.

• POPE JOHN PAUL II was named An Honorary  Harlem Globetrotter” in 2000

• CLINT EASTWOOD Got the title role of the 1971 movie Dirty  Harry.  It was originally intended for Frank Sinatra but he refused.  It was then offered to John Wayne then Paul Newman.