[Trending] 25+ Rare Muhammad Ali Photos To Celebrate His 75th Birthday
Today marks what would have been the 75th birthday of one of the 20th century’s most significant and celebrated sports figures, Muhammad Ali...
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Today marks what would have been the 75th birthday of one of the 20th century’s most significant and celebrated sports figures, Muhammad Ali.
Born Cassius Clay Jr in 1942 in the Southern U.S. state of Kentucky, Ali began his rise to fame in 1960 when he won a gold medal in light heavyweight division of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Four years later, he truly shot to superstardom after winning the WBA, WBC and lineal heavyweight titles. It was also during the late 1960s that he changed his name to Muhammed Ali, describing “Cassius Clay” as his “slave name”.
While mostly recognised for his efforts in the boxing ring, Ali was the voice behind quotes such as “float like a butterfly, and sting like a bee”. He was also a keen activist for black Americans’ civil rights, and strongly opposed the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam conflict, making him an icon of counterculture.
Ali hung up his boxing gloves in 1981, and in 1984 was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a result of decades spent in the boxing ring. Over the next 32 years, he yet again showed his fighting spirit in combatting the disease, until he passed away on June 3, 2016. On average, sufferers live between seven and 14 years after diagnosis.
To celebrate his birthday, Bored Panda has found a selection of photographs to document Ali’s remarkable life as an athlete, an activist, and an inspiration to athletes and non-athletes alike all over the world.
Young heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali points to a sign he wrote on a chalk board in his dressing room before his fight against Archie Moore in Los Angeles, predicting he’d knock Moore out in the fourth round, which he went on to do. The sign also predicts Clay will be the next champ via a knockout over Sonny Liston in eight rounds. He did it in seven rounds, November 15, 1962
Image credits: Harold P. Matosian
Muhammad Ali is a happy young man in his dressing room after knocking out Archie Moore in the exact round he predicted he would, the fourth, at Los Angeles, November 17, 1962
Image credits: AP Photo
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay), the “Louisville lip,” holds up eight fingers in London June 19, 1963 as he predicts the number of rounds it will take him to knock out Sonny Liston if he should get a chance at the world heavyweight championship. Clay had predicted an end to his fight with British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper in five rounds and that’s just what happened June 18 in London’s Wembley stadium. Ali won on a technical knockout in the fifth round
Image credits: AP Photo
Perspiration beads on the face of world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, shown in training for his fight with Sonny Liston at Lewiston, Maine,May 25, 1965
Image credits: AP Photo
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over fallen challenger Sonny Liston, shouting and gesturing shortly after dropping Liston with a short, hard right to the jaw on in Lewiston, Maine, May 25, 1965
Image credits: John Rooney
Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay at the time, strikes a familiar pose as he shouts, “I am the greatest,” as he leaves the ring, arms raised, following his defeat of former heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Florida, February 25, 1964
Image credits: AP Photo
Muhammad Ali behind the wheel on April 2, 1963.
Image credits: AP Photo
Cassius Clay after being declared heavyweight champion of the world at Miami Beach, Florida, February 25, 1964. Clay beat champion Sonny Liston after six rounds in one of the greatest upsets in fight history
Image credits: AP Photo
file photo of Muhammad Ali, who was due to fight World Champion George Foreman, tells a crowd of boxing fans in N’ Sele Zaire, “Ako bo mai ye,” which translates from Zaire’s Lingalla dialect as: “I will kill him.”, A September 12, 1974
Image credits: Horst Faas
Heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali makes a point during a news conference that he conducted from inside the ring in Atlanta, Georgia, in this October 24, 1970
Image credits: AP Photo
Spray flies from the head of challenger Joe Frazier as heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali connects with a right in the ninth round of their title fight in Manila, Philippines, October 1, 1975. Ali won the fight on a decision to retain the title
Image credits: Mitsunori Chigit
With compressed lips, Muhammad Ali punches bag on January 10, 1974, in his Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, training camp, where he was preparing for his January 28 rematch with Joe Frazier
Image credits: Rusty Kennedy
An October 30, 1974, file photo of Muhammad Ali as he watches George Foreman head for the canvas after being knocked out in the eighth round of their match in Kinshasa, Zaire. It was 41 years ago that two men met just before dawn on Oct. 30, 1974, to earn $5 million in the Rumble in the Jungle. In one of boxing’s most memorable moments, Muhammad Ali stopped the fearsome George Foreman to recapture the heavyweight title in the impoverished African nation of Zaire.
Image credits: AP Photo
Muhammad Ali, world heavyweight champion, punches speed bag on September 29, 1975 at the Folk Art Center in Manila, Philippines, as he prepares his title fight on October 1 with Joe Frazier
Image credits: Jess Tan
Muhammad Ali is seen prior to the first round of his title fight against heavyweight contender Ken Norton, shouting “Norton must fall” at Yankee Stadium in New York on Tuesday, September 28, 1976. Days later on Friday, October 1, in Istanbul, Ali told a crowd of reporters and photographers that “as of now, I am quitting boxing and will devote all my energy to the propagation of the Muslim faith.”
Image credits: AP Photo
Muhammad Ali trains at his Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, retreat for his upcoming fight with Leon Spinks, August 14, 1978
Image credits: Dave Pickof
US boxing great Muhammad Ali poses at the World Economic Forum in Davos
Image credits: Thomson Reuters
MUHAMMAD ALI DURING A TRAINING SESSION
Image credits: Getty Images
Muhammad Ali looks on during a bout between Evander Holyfield and George Foreman at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 9, 1991
Image credits: Barry Jarvinian
Muhammad Ali receives a replacement gold medal for one he lost many years ago during a halftime ceremony of the Yugoslavia vs. USA basketball game at the Georgia Dome at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia
Image credits: Doug Pensinger
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali onstage during the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s 2010 Benefit “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s” at The Waldorf-Astoria on November 13, 2010, in New York City
Image credits: Andrew H. Walker
Muhammad Ali spends some quality time with his daughter Maryum in 1974
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali is photographed carrying then wife, Sonji Clay, over the threshold after their wedding, 1967
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali is pictured with wife Veronica Porsche Ali and daughter Hana Ali in 1977 while touring their farm in Berrien Spring, Michigan
Image credits: Ebony Collection
World heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali is photographed with first wife Sonji Roi in August of 1964
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is photographed next to a boulder paying tribute to legendary boxer Jack Johnson at his Deer Lake, PA training camp in July of 1974
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali hams it up on stage with tennis star Althea Gibson during a press party television special in July, 1975
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali is photographed with Omar Bongo (formely known as Albert Bongo) the President of Gabon, and his son Alain at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on October 21, 1977
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali appears with civil rights activists Ralph Abernathy and Coretta Scott King
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali shows guests, including Sugar Ray Robinson, a magic trick during an outdoor party at the Los Angeles home of trainer Drew Bundini Brown in 1981
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali and prolific writer Alex Haley appear at Ali’s Semi-Open House in June of 1979 at his Freemont Park, CA estate. Guests attended the fundraising soiree before heading to an NAACP Legal Defense Fund buffet dinner and play. All the proceeds from Ali’s event went to the NAACP
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Boxing great Muhammad Ali walks down a main street in Frankfurt, Germany with boxing promoter and cornerman Angelo Dundee in September of 1966, while a local newsman attempts to get an interview with the prized fighter, 1966
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali tries a hook shot during a game of basketball at his Deer Lake, PA training camp in July of 1978
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali is pictured chopping wood in 1974
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Boxing great Muhammad Ali is photographed taking time away from the ring to delight in cuddling and playing with daughter, baby Hana, 1977
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali is pictured attending a social event at Bitter End Cafe in Greenwich Village, New York
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is photographed with basketball player Elgin Baylor, boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson, and football star O. J. Simpson in January of 1971
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali engages in friendly banter with football star O.J. Simpson in January of 1971
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Boxing great Muhammad Ali is photographed demonstrating his signature fighting stance at his Deer Lake, PA training camp in July of 1974
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali is photographed with fellow boxer Ken Norton during the time of their anticipated fight in March of 1973
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali is photographed with Howard Cosell backstage before “The Muhammad Ali Variety Special” in July of 1975
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier battle it out in the ring during their historic “Fight of the Year” on March 8, 1971 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The outcome resulted in Ali’s first professional defeat, a close 15-round decision to Frazier
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali receives a friendly jab from music sensation Stevie Wonder during Ali’s television show taping in 1975
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali has tape removed from his hands by Wali Youngblood Muhammad, Soria Brown, and his trainer Drew Bundini Brown in July of 1978 after a session on the heavy bag. Ali retreated to his Deer Lake, PA training camp in preparation for his impending fight against Leon Spinks on September 15, 1978
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali is photographed at his Deer Lake, PA training camp in June of 1974
Image credits: Ebony Collection
Muhammad Ali with Pele
Muhammad Ali with Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges
Image credits: NBC
Muhammad Ali with Bill Cosby
Muhammad Ali with Marvin Gaye
Muhammad Ali with Michael Jackson
Muhammad Ali with Sammy Davis Junior
Image credits: Bettmann
The King and The Greatest….Elvis and Ali in the Kings Hilton Hotel suite in 1973 where Elvis presented Ali a special one of a kind robe designed just like famous stage jumpsuits which had “The People’s Choice” on the back
Muhammad Ali with Martin Luther King
Muhammad Ali with Stevie Wonder
Muhammad Ali with The Jacksons
Muhammad Ali with Sam Cooke
Image credits: Sam Cooke
Muhammad Ali with Malcolm X
Image credits: AP Photos
Muhammad Ali with The Beatles
Muhammad Ali with Bob Dylan
Muhammad Ali gives a quizzical stare as he ponders the question of what he will do with his $2.5 million dollar share of the March 8 fight with Joe Frazier, March 5, 1971. Ali spent some time with the press after his regularly scheduled workout in Miami Beach, Fla., answering questions relative to the upcoming bout
Image credits: MARK FOLEY
Muhammad Ali gets a pinch to the cheek from his 18-year-old daughter Maryum “May May” Ali at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York, May 12, 1988. The fighter presented the cafe with a boxing robe given to him by Elvis Presley
Image credits: RICHARD DREW
In this Feb. 25, 1964, file photo, Sonny Liston, right, lowers his head and works in close during the sixth round of heavyweight championship fight against Muhammad Ali in Miami Beach, Fla
Image credits: AP Photos
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali waits patiently as a young fan, six-year-old Manuel de la Sierra of Mexico City sets his camera for another picture outside Houston’s domed stadium, Feb. 4, 1967
Image credits: AP Photos
Former world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medal winner Muhammad Ali carried the Olympic Torch for a kilometer in Louisville on Sunday, May 27, 1984
Image credits: AP Photos
In this Feb. 18, 1964 The Beatles, from left, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, take a fake blow from Cassius Clay, who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali, while visiting the heavyweight contender at his training camp in Miami Beach, Fla
Image credits: AP Photos
Referee John LoBianco directs champion Muhammad Ali to a neutral corner before he started the knockout count over prostrate challenger Zora Folley in the seventh round of heavyweight little fight. Ali was declared victor on a knockout at 1:48 of the round in New York’s Madison Square Garden, March 22, 1967
Image credits: AP Photos
Young boxer Cassius Clay is seen with his mother, Odessa Grady Clay, April 2, 1963
Image credits: AP Photos
Keith Green, nine-year-old fourth grader from P.S. 175 in Manhattan, is shown striking a victorious pose after “flooring” heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden in New York, March 14, 1967, as Ali trained for his March 22 bout with Zora Folley. Keith was among 300 children from P.S. 175 who visited Ali
Image credits: JOHN LINDSAY
A trio of U.S. boxers wear gold medals at the Olympic village in Rome, September 6, 1960. From the left are: Wilbert McClure of Toledo, Ohio, light middleweight; Cassius Clay of Louisville, KY, light heavyweight; and Edward Crook of Fort Campbell, KY, middleweight
Image credits: AP Photos
Muhammad Ali, former world heavyweight boxing champion, toys with the finely combed hair of television sports commentator Howard Cosell before the start of the Olympic boxing trials, Aug. 7, 1972, in West Point, NY
Image credits: AP Photos
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over fallen challenger Sonny Liston, shouting and gesturing shortly after dropping Liston with a short hard right to the jaw on May 25, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine. The bout lasted only one minute into the first round.
Image credits: John Rooney
Former heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali carries his son, Muhammad Ali, Jr., on his shoulders, Aug. 24, 1974, as he points toward the building in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Image credits: BILL INGRAHAM
Ali is shown in rare form as he signed to meet heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston. The signing took place at the Denver Hilton Hotel, November 6, 1963
Image credits: AP Photos
Heavyweight boxing champ Cassius Clay and his wife Sonji are seen at a press conference after his successful title defense in Lewiston, Me., May 25, 1965
Image credits: AP Photos
Pope John Paul II looks on as Muhammad Ali, former heavyweight boxing champion, signs his autograph in Vatican City, June 6, 1982
Image credits: AP Photos
Sports promoter Don King stands between Muhammad Ali, left, the heavyweight champion, and Joe Frazier in New York, Thursday, July 17, 1975, after it was announced that Ali and Frazier will meet in a title bout dot
Image credits: AP Photos
Young heavyweight fighter Muhammad Ali, known as Cassius Clay at the time, is seen with his trainer Angelo Dundee at City Parks Gym in New York, Feb. 8, 1962
Image credits: DAN GROSSI
Basketball star Wilt Chamberlain extends a long left in the direction of world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali as they met at an ABC television studio in New York, March 10, 1967. Chamberlain stands 7 feet, 1 inch tall, and Ali is 6 feet, 2 inches tall. Chamberlain’s reach is over 90 inches, Ali’s is 79 inches. Their proposed fight, in all seriousness, never came off
Image credits: AP Photos
Heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali, center, leaves the Armed Forces induction center with his entourage after refusing to be drafted into the Armed Forces in Houston, April 28, 1967. Hundreds of Ali fans and supporters filled the streets to greet him when he left the building
Image credits: AP Photos
Pop artist Andy Warhol, left, is shown photographing Muhammad Ali, his infant daughter, Hanna, and wife, Veronica, Thursday, August 18, 1977, at Ali’s training camp in Deer Lake, Pa
Image credits: AP Photos
World heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali with both hands full at London’s Heathrow Airport in 1977 when he left for New York with his daughters. Ali had been in Britain on a 2-day-visit to record a television sports interview
Image credits: AP Photos
World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali, left, and Ernie Terrell stand face to face during a weigh-in for the title fight tonight in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 6, 1967
Image credits: AP Photos
Cassius Clay faces newsmen in the dressing room at Madison Square Garden, in New York, night of March 13, 1963 after winning unanimous decision over Doug Jones in 10-round bout
Image credits: AP Photos
Boxer Cassius Clay is shown in 1954
Image credits: AP Photos
As a bubbly teenager at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Clay parroted America’s Cold War line. He took the gold medal for light heavyweight boxing, beating out Zbigniew Pietrzykowski of Poland, right, and the joint bronze medalists Giulio Saraudi of Italy and Anthony Madigan of Australia
Image credits: Getty Images
Clay riding through Louisville after the 1960 Olympics
Image credits: Associated Press
Clay’s handlers held him back after he beat Liston and was announced as the new heavyweight champion of the world
Image credits: Associated Press
Lt. Col. J. Edwin McKee escorting Clay from the armed forces examining station in Houston on April 28, 1967, after he refused to be drafted into the army, requesting conscientious objector status. Clay was stripped of his title by boxing commissions and was convicted of draft evasion. He did not fight for three and a half years
Image credits: Associated Press
Ali with Howard Cosell in 1966, demonstrating how he used the Ali Shuffle in his fight with Cleveland Williams at the Astrodome. Cosell, one of Ali’s most steadfast supporters, kept Ali on television during his exile from the ring
Image credits: Don Hogan Charles
Ali stood toe to toe with Frazier and slugged it out as if determined to prove he had heart, that he could stand up to punishment. Frazier won a 15-round decision, but both men suffered noticeable physical damage
Image credits: Larry Morris
Belinda, Ali’s wife at the time, with him and their children in 1973 at his training camp in Deer Lake, Pa
Image credits: E. Sauro
Ali and his mother, Odessa, in October 1974 in Zaire, where he was training for his match with Foreman
Image credits: United Press International
Muhammad Ali and Robin Williams practiced their punches at Celebrity Fight Night XII at the JW Marriott Ridge Desert Resort in Phoenix, Arizona on March 18, 2006
Image credits: Getty Images
On the drive down to the fight, Ali was speeding. When he was pulled over, the policeman didn’t recognize him. ‘I’m the champ,’ Ali reportedly said. The policeman let him go with a warning. February 1970
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Ali at home. February 1970
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Ali reading the newspaper at home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 1970
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Ali on the telephone at home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 1970
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Ali with daughter Maryum. February 1970
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Ali at home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 1970
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Ali makes a phone call in his kitchen while daughter Maryum plays in front of him in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 1970
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Ali relaxes with a glass of milk in his kitchen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 1970
Image credits: Carl Fischer
An excited crowd tries to shake hands with Muhammad Ali at a theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 1970.
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Muhammad Ali photographed by Carl Fischer for Esquire. 1968
Image credits: Carl Fischer
Source: BoredPanda