The Greatest of All Time, the Louisville Lip, Muhammad Ali, celebrates his 71st birthday today, January 17, 2013. Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942, Ali would of course go on to accomplish, oh, just a few things during the course of his fighting career, as well as having a massive social and cultural impact across the globe.
In fact, we just shared a special documentary video about Ali’s humanitarian trip to Iraq in 1990 which resulted in the release of civilian hostages. The documentary was a part of the 30 for 30 Shorts series, and is called “Ali: The Mission”. It’s a very intriguing, unknown story about Ali, and is a great example of the work he did throughout his life, and the example he set in terms of personal beliefs.
Of course, there’s not much we need to say in terms of celebrating the man’s time inside the ropes. If you want to learn more about him in honor of his birthday though, then you can check out our Muhammad Ali facts page, with tons of tidbits on the man and his life, and our Muhammad Ali record & timeline, with a detailed fight-by-fight breakdown of his career.
We’ve also done fantasy fights pitting Ali vs. Mike Tyson, and Ali vs. Rocky Marciano.
It’s great that the GOAT is still alive and kicking, and by all accounts, in good spirits despite his health condition which continues to worsen.
Four years ago, Ali attended an inauguration event in Washington D.C., the Kentucky Society Bluegrass Ball. All of the upcoming inauguration events for President Barack Obama’s second term are being held this coming weekend, so it’ll be interesting to see if he makes a repeat showing.
Happy Birthday Muhammad Ali!
