When I learned of the passing of Muhammad Ali, I starting watching, listening and reading the tributes to the late heavyweight boxing champ, who became much more than a sports figure in America.  But the Muhammad Ali being discussed today was not the celebrity I read about in the 1960s.

First, no one gave the man then called Cassius Clay any chance of beating Sonny Liston in their first heavyweight championship match in Miami Beach held on February 25th, 1964. That included all the newspaper writers regularly covering the boxing beat (there were many in those days).  It also included all the so-called boxing “experts” of that era.

I don’t blame any of them for predicting a dominating Liston win.  There were major contenders for the title that refused to even box Liston….he was known as a powerful boxer with an even more powerful punch.  In the heavyweight division, a boxer like Liston could dominate.

But Clay (as he was known at the time) did something boxing orthodoxy of the time said not to do.  He used his speed and quickness in the ring to wear out his opponent.  The match went 6 rounds, with Liston not coming out for round 7.  Ali was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World.

The day after the fight, Clay announced he was joining the Nation of Islam.  He later changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

There was a rematch scheduled between Liston and Ali, but Ali had emergency hernia surgery that delayed the bout.  Boston Gardens was the original site for the rematch, but for a number of reasons, Boston backed out.  At the last minute the small town of Lewiston, Maine, population 41,000, became the new site of the rematch set for May 25th, 1965.  Only 2,434 boxing fans showed up in a venue that could handle a crowd of 4,900. There were many security concerns.  The FBI took many of the threats of violence seriously enough that law enforcement posted a 12-man, 24-hour guard around Ali before and during the fight.

In one of the shortest heavyweight title fights in boxing history, Ali won again when Listen fell to the ring canvas abut one minute into the first round.  There was mass confusion after that, but the officials ruled Listen was down for the count.

Those 2 fights were controversial, but Ali won both.

Muhammad Ali was not able to box during years of his prime because he refused to be inducted into the military.  Many people today were born long after the military draft was abolished, but at one time, it was considered your patriotic responsibility to report for duty if drafted.  Ali opposed the Vietnam War and said he refused to serve on religious grounds. Boxing regulators stripped him of his title and his ability to fight as a boxer professionally. Eventually, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Ali’s favor and he avoided prison.  With the legal troubles settled, Ali was allowed to get back into the ring.

What most people don’t realize is just how hated Ali was by many people during most of the 1960s.  The Vietnam War was not always unpopular with Americans as a whole, particularly in the early years of the conflict.  Many hated Ali not just for his stance on the war, but for his association with the Nation of Islam.  To put it bluntly, Muhammad Ali scared a lot of white Americans in the 1960s.

Then his reputation began to slowly change during the 1970s and into the 1980s.  Ali had contracted Parkinson’s Disease, but remained active, particularly in supporting causes of peace and charitable work.  Many say Muhammad Ali was the most popular man in earth, with the best-known countenance in the world.

I thought about all this when watching, reading and listening to all the praises being expressed at the death of Muhammad Ali.  He was a polarizing figure early in his life, then became something else entirely in the later years of his life – a highly respected man.

Muhammad Ali may well have been the best athlete of the 20th Century.  He knew how to promote himself (whether you liked it or not).  Those 2 things would be enough to cement a legacy.  But Muhammad Ali was more than that.  He was a cultural icon known throughout the world.  That’s how most of us will remember him.