Muhammad Ali 1942-2016

[KELT]

MUHAMMED ALI, has died

[KELT]

. .

[JimC]

Damn.

What a great athlete and fighter. I've even heard him called, "The Greatest".

I've even heard people other than Ali say it.

He inspired me to take up boxing when I was a kid. RIP; Mr. Ali.

[ichabodius]

Sad. R.I.P.

[Serendipity09]

RIP to the greatest.

[cindyt]

RIP

[cleanskull]

R.I.P. Not unexpected but still hits hard. Might mean a bit more to the older hags amongst us. bummed out.

[jerryvr]

great man, fantastic boxer..

My dad used to wake me up early in the morning to watch him fight..

[Aviatrix]

I met him in person in the early 90's. I was waiting at O'Hare for a plane to return home when he and his entrourage stops at our gate. They weren't headed here, but I guess he needed to sit down (this was post his Parkinson's diagnosis). For the next 1 and a half, he proceeds to sign autographs for fans. Just the nicest person.

[Leasie]

RIP.

[Mcafgr]

What a life he had. RIP Champ

[PiggyTx]

well, I'm one of those who ain't crying

[pkstracy]

Rest in peace Sir.

[JimC]

I met him in person in the early 90's. I was waiting at O'Hare for a plane to return home when he and his entrourage stops at our gate. They weren't headed here, but I guess he needed to sit down (this was post his Parkinson's diagnosis). For the next 1 and a half, he proceeds to sign autographs for fans. Just the nicest person.

That's a great story; good to hear.

Of course I understand why; but I always thought it was a shame that he changed his name. How many people get tagged with a name as awesome as Cassius Marcellus Clay?

[navallint]

RIP

[Torious]

Such sad news!

[TheDude]

R.I.P.

[Serendipitous]

Float like a butterfly, Champ. RIP.

[Desert Ghost]

I got to speake with him when he called the bank I worked for to ask questions about some of his accounts a few years back. Very nice to speak with and very polite. RIP.

[cindyt]

He was friends with Bruce Lee.

[human]

meh just another boxer that was far from the greatest which baby boomers have fetish for because he was an anti white muslim racist

[DesertGypsy]

RIP, Champ.

[cindyt]

Allah is not God, Champ.

[Upset]

This is so great.

[McCourt]

I'm going to try and not talk shit about this guy but this looks fake as hell. Ali has effectively been dying for 20 years. Does his brother really need to put on such a show? I don't even see a tear.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ouisville.html

[GEM]

.................................

[Tony Trout]

I really hate to hear that "The Great One" has passed. He fought a hard but brave battle against Parkinson's Disease (I believe that televangelist, Billy Graham, also has Parkinson's, correct?).

Probably not a lot of people (unless you're a big Elvis fan) know that Ali & Elvis Presley were admirers (I wouldn't say friends) and Elvis had a boxer's robe made for Ali titled, "The People's Champion" but the designers wrote "THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE" - instead of "Champion" and Elvis was quite angry when he saw it. Here's some pictures of Ali & Elvis in Las Vegas, NV in February, 1973:

[AngieDFan]

Always seemed like an asshole to me.

[Dangitbawb]

I'm probably going to get skewed for this, but the man was a legend. Not a hero, but a damn good boxer. He was the first one to really be in your face about it, and he knew what he was doing. I was around when he was found guilty of dodging the draft and when it was overturned. A lot of our guys didn't come back (over 58,000) and as far as I'm concerned the war never made any sense to begin with. I would not knowingly be led to my death like a lamb to slaughter any more than he did. He was definitely a showman and an entertainer, but what he had to endure the last 20 years of his life living with Parkinsons is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. I live with someone who was a caretaker for her husband, I hear the stories, it is no life at all. We'll all have differing opinions on his legacy, but I'm glad I got to watch him during his prime, and relieved to know that he no longer suffers.

[McCourt]

I read the reason that Ali was first deemed ineligible to serve in the Army was because his IQ was too low. It was not until the Army lowered its standards that he qualified. His Wiki page said his IQ was tested at 78. I can only judge by the television shows I watch of him to have any opinion of him at all, but it seems to me that he was quite intelligent. Certainly intelligent enough to serve, especially during a time of conflict. Anyway, considering that he joined the Nation of Islam about that same time, its a moot point, but something tells me had he been deemed fit the first time, he might have actually accepted that decision and gone. I guess we'll never know.

[Slick SKillet Mayhand]

I remember Cosell mentioning one time in an Ali retrospect that Ali could 'still hardly read and write his name.' I didn't buy it, but it seems like Cosell would know.

[cindyt]

He was too glib to be dumb.

[JimC]

That's the first time I've heard about any possible "lack of intelligence".

I don't buy it - I've seen too many interviews where he spoke on the fly and answered questions very intelligently. That guy was pretty smart as far as I can see.

I never reconciled the whole "draft-dodger" thing.

[McCourt]

I don't think Ali was necessarily book smart but that doesn't make him stupid. He dropped out of high school but I don't think he dropped out because the work was too hard.

I think Ali flunked the tests for the draft board on purpose, so there is no telling what his actual IQ was. I don't think people need to be intelligent to fire a gun at the enemy.

[Linnie]

Given his fame and wealth at the time, there was almost as little chance that, being drafted, like Elvis before him, Ali would actually have had to be put in harm's way anywhere. But he likely would have been obligated to be a publicity shill for the Army if nothing else, as attracting publicity was his biggest gift after boxing. This, he obviously refused to do.

[JimC]

I don't think Ali was necessarily book smart but that doesn't make him stupid. He dropped out of high school but I don't think he dropped out because the work was too hard.

I think Ali flunked the tests for the draft board on purpose, so there is no telling what his actual IQ was. I don't think people need to be intelligent to fire a gun at the enemy.

LOL!

How true, how true.

I saw a poster once that said, "If you have half a mind to join the infantry; that's enough."

[cindyt]

LOL!

How true, how true.

I saw a poster once that said, "If you have half a mind to join the infantry; that's enough."

[cleanskull]

That's what boot camp is for. They make it hard so they can cull the dummy's. The Nation of Islam was started in Detroit and not quite the same as the faith of Islam. He was the lead star in the play that was his life. The mouth from the south. Looks like a big honking funeral.

[cindyt]

[human]

That's the first time I've heard about any possible "lack of intelligence".

I don't buy it - I've seen too many interviews where he spoke on the fly and answered questions very intelligently. That guy was pretty smart as far as I can see.

I never reconciled the whole "draft-dodger" thing.

Ali was classified 1-Y: "Not qualified under current standards for service in the armed forces.

[JimC]

Interesting.

So he was stripped of his title and couldn't fight during some of his peak years; and he wasn't even qualified to serve?

That's rather messed up.

[human]

not really ... at the time he was the poster boy for the Nation of Islam & being praised for regurgitating it's hatred ... think about what those intolerate seeds he planted grew into and how they were fertilized by his status ... (Even Malcom X saw through that nonsense) ... Mr Ali remains as he always was nothing more than a media creation ... far from the greatest boxer and even further from any sort of intellectual whose only social commentary was the type of vile bile people condemn isis for

[Bayou Queen]

Thank you Cindy. There are many Vietnam Nam Veterans that were barely out of high school and had no other choice than to serve when they were drafted into this War. They still suffer physically and mentally, one of which is my Hubby who was an Air Force Medic, and the memories continue to haunt him of the men he couldn't save.

[cindyt]

A friend of mine was a medic on the front lines in Nam and will talk about it at all.

[cash]

A temporary headstone

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...headstone.html

[Harry's Cat]

Hi All
a long time since i posted anything here. hope you are all Full of Joy!!!

i was watching telly yesterday and saw an item stating that Ali talked a man down from a window and stopped him commuting suicide.
here's an article about it
http://framework.latimes.com/2016/06...out-of-jumping

I am a great admirer of the man (as a middle aged white woman fro London)

i wonder if the Suicidal Man is still alive???

[SomeChick]

I just watched this great documentary about Ali on PBS:

https://video.wttw.com/video/muhammad-ali-part-4/