Muhammad Ali: His Greatest TV Moments
That Muhammad Ali, who has died at age 74, was one of the greatest athletes in the history of sports is beyond dispute, but he was also one of the greatest figures in pop culture. His fame and influence extended well beyond the boxing world. His controversial opinions exerted influence on millions of Americans. His ability to spar verbally as well as in the ring made him a favorite guest on talk shows and on news broadcasts. Here are some TV moments that typify his enormous presence in our culture.
From the start of his career, when he was still known by his birth name, Cassius Clay, the fighter was quickly recognized as a TV host’s dream: a quick-thinking young man with a good sense of humor. It was the immediate contrast — a man whose profession traded in violent activity, yet who was capable of nimble wit — that made Clay a draw. Look at him recite his own boastful rhymes on the Steve Allen-hosted Tonight Show in 1964, when Clay was in training to fight — and shockingly defeat — Sonny Liston.
Clay joined the Nation of Islam in 1964, took the name Muhammad Ali, and began speaking openly about social issues. No athlete of such prominence had ever done this. The TV media in America had but a glancing knowledge of Islam, but Ali would educate millions of his fans, many of whom turned on Ali during this period. He is seen here with Malcolm X.
At the height of the Vietnam War, he declined to be conscripted into the military, was stripped of his championship status, but still spoke out, as he did here, with his famous statement, “I ain’t got nothing against no Viet Cong; no Viet Cong ever called me a n*****.”
On a lighter note, some of Ali’s most memorable TV moments involved his verbal jousts with sportscaster Howard Cosell. Cosell, a genial windbag who prided himself on his fancy vocabulary, met his match in the conversationally adept Ali.
Ali was so famous, he even inspired a Saturday morning cartoon show in 1977. But he’ll remain immortal as the most colorful, outspoken champion athlete of all time, and one of the few figures in sports who crossed over into pop and political culture to a dramatic, unprecedented degree.
