Muhammad Ali Way (Manhattan)
Present name:West 33rd Street
Location:Between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue
Honoree: Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. (1942-2016) in Louisville, KY, was one of the most celebrated sports figures of the 20th century. He won the World Heavyweight Boxing championship three times, as well as the North American Boxing Federation championship and an Olympic gold medal. He changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam and subsequently converted to Sunni Islam in 1975. He refused to serve in the U. S. Army during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector. This and his affiliation with the Nation of Islam made him a controversial figure. Near the end of 1967, he was stripped of his title by the boxing commission and would not be allowed to fight professionally for more than three years. He was also convicted for refusing induction into the army and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1970, he was allowed to fight again, and in late 1971 the Supreme Court reversed his conviction. He went on to fight Joe Frazer and George Foreman in what are arguably considered some of the best fights in boxing history. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the early 1980s. Despite his disability, he remained a beloved and active public figure. After his retirement from boxing, he was devoted to humanitarian endeavors around the world lending his name and presence to hunger and poverty relief, supporting education efforts of all kinds, promoting adoption, and encouraging people to respect and better understand one another. In 1996, he had the honor of lighting the flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2005, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony, and the prestigious Otto Hahn medal of the United Nations Association of Germany in Berlin for his work with the US civil rights movement and the United Nations. It is estimated that he helped provide more than 22 million meals to feed the hungry. (Johnson)
LL:2018/139