Unscripted Featuring: Part IV Muhammad Ali the Sports Mount Rushmore

Unscripted
By Keith Edmonds
Ink Spot Contributing Writer

"The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses,

behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long

before I dance under those lights."

~Muhammed Ali

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota is widely known for it’s granite enshrinement of four of US presidents namely George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt. Their images are forever immortalized as arguably the greatest presidents that we’ve ever known in our history. Though that can (and has been) disputed, onr thing that cannot be disputed is that Mount Rushmore symbalizes greatness in it’s purest form and entirety and is a standard by which any other people that assume the position of US presidency occupies. Using Mount Rushmore as a premise, I started thinking about what a Mount Rushmore of sports would look like if there was ever one built and 4 sports figures almost immediately came to mind for me. Today begins the final part of my 4 part series recognizing the 4 individuals that I feel should be given strong consideration for sports version of Mount Rushmore because of their unquestioned greatness and shear dominance of their peers and rivals…

Muhammad Ali, originally named Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.,  was born in 1942, Louisville, Kentucky  in a time of segregated public facilities. When he was 12 years old, he started boxing and trained under the watchful eye of a Louisville police officer named Joe Martin. After a successful amateur career, he won a Gold Medal in the 1960 Olympics in Rome in the 175lb division. It was after this success that he decided that he would turn to the professional ranks and test his skills against the world’s best fighters.

Early in his career Clay was known more for his charm and charisma than for his skills as a fighter and generated interest in his fights with some of his famous quotes such as: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He proclaimed himself as the “Greatest” but his boxing skills seemed to show otherwise, simply because his early bouts were against fighters that were aging or long past their prime.  In 1964 Clay challenged and defeated Sonny Liston, who many felt was the most feared and imposing fighter in that day and age, and that catapulted him onto a stage that he would never leave as a fighter during his professional career. It was after this fight that Clay shocked the boxing establishment by announcing that he had accepted the teachings of the Nation of Islam and took the name Muhammad Ali, which was given to him by his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad.

What I found interesting during my research is that Ali wasn’t immediately accepted by boxing purists during his early career simply because he spoke out on many of our nations and world’s issues that caused people to deem him too controversial to be taken seriously as a fighter. The win over Liston not only made him the World champion, but it also made the boxing world take notice of this brash, cocky, and highly skilled fighter through a different lens. Ali continued to box and dominate every- single- match- that he- had but he also continued his stance on controversial issues. On April 28, 1967, (citing his religious beliefs), Ali refused induction into the U.S. armed forces and was stripped of his championship and banned from fighting by every state athletic commission in the United States for three and a half years. In addition, he was criminally indited and sentenced to five years in prison.  This single act of standing up for his beliefs along with his immense talents in my mind sealed the deal for Ali to be included on Mount Rushmore along with:

Career Record 56-6

3 Time World Heavyweight Champion

Fought in 7 of the greatest revenue producing fight ever!

1963 vs Sonny Liston

1965 vs. Floyd Patterson

1971 vs Joe Frazier (Dubbed “Fight of the Century”)

1974 vs. Joe Frazier

1974 vs. George Foreman (Dubbed “Rumble in the Jungle”)

1975 vs Joe Frazier (Dubbed The “Thrilla in Manila”)

1978 vs. Leon Spinks

Ali appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on 38 different occasions,  (second only to Michael Jordan's 46)

Career Earnings Totaling over 60 million dollars.

Ali remains the only three- heavyweight champion and he is the only boxer to be named Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year six times! He was one of only three boxers to be named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in its first year. He held wins over seven other Hall of Fame inductees during an era that has been called the golden age of heavyweight boxing. The Associated Press ranked him as the best heavyweight of the 20th century and his joint records of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title and winning 14 unified title bouts stood for 35 years!

With all of this being said, I think what moved me more towards including Ali on this immortal shrine was the respect and admiration he received world-wide. Athletes, political figures, Hollywood stars and influential dignitaries all flocked to his appearances proving once again that Ali was one of the three most recognizable athletes in the world, (along with Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth).

Interesting fact: In 2002 Muhammed Ali was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is the only one to be mounted on a vertical surface, out of his request that the name Muhammad (a name he shares with the Islamic prophet) not be walked upon.

Well, there you have it. These great athletes are who I feel should be on Mount Rushmore of Sport Figures. I know that there are many that I could have chosen, and you as readers will have your favorites, but I tried to provide supportive evidence for each inclusion and their contributions on and off of their fields How did I do?