Muhammad Ali: Heavyweight Champion (Black Americans of Achievement)

133 Pages·2004·3.25 MB·English

by  Jack Rummel

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Black Americans of Achievement
L E G A C Y E D I T I O N
Muhammad Ali
HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
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Black Americans of Achievement
L E G A C Y E D I T I O N
Muhammad Ali
Frederick Douglass
W.E.B. Du Bois
Marcus Garvey
Alex Haley
Langston Hughes
Jesse Jackson
Coretta Scott King
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Malcolm X
Thurgood Marshall
Jesse Owens
Rosa Parks
Colin Powell
Sojourner Truth
Harriet Tubman
Nat Turner
Booker T. Washington
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Black Americans of Achievement
L E G A C Y E D I T I O N
Muhammad Ali
HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
Jack Rummel
With additional text written by
Gloria Blakely
Consulting Editor, Revised Edition
Heather Lehr Wagner
Senior Consulting Editor, First Edition
Nathan Irvin Huggins
Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute
for Afro-American Research
Harvard University
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COVER: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali poses for a photo after a 1999 interview in New York.
CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS
VP,NEWPRODUCTDEVELOPMENT Sally Cheney
DIRECTOROFPRODUCTION Kim Shinners
CREATIVEMANAGER Takeshi Takahashi
MANUFACTURINGMANAGER Diann Grasse
Staff for MUHAMMAD ALI
EXECUTIVEEDITOR Lee Marcott
ASSISTANTEDITOR Alexis Browsh
PRODUCTIONEDITOR Noelle Nardone
PHOTOEDITOR Sarah Bloom
SERIESANDCOVERDESIGNER Keith Trego
LAYOUT 21st Century Publishing and Communications,Inc.
©2005 by Chelsea House Publishers,
a subsidiary ofHaights Cross Communications.
All rights reserved.Printed and bound in the United States ofAmerica.
www.chelseahouse.com
First Printing
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rummel,Jack.
Muhammad Ali /Jack Rummel;with additional text by Gloria Blakely.
p.cm.—(Black Americans ofachievement)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7910-8156-7 (hardcover) — ISBN 0-7910-8330-6 (pbk.)
1.Ali,Muhammad,1942– —Juvenile literature.2.Boxers (Sports)—United States—
Biography—Juvenile literature.I.Blakely,Gloria.II.Title.III.Series.
GV1132.A44R86 2004
796.83'092—dc22
2004015304
All links and web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time ofpublication.
Because ofthe dynamic nature ofthe web,some addresses and links may have changed
since publication and may no longer be valid.
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Contents
Introduction vi
1 Miss Velvet Green
1
2 Cassius Clay of Louisville
5
3 Dance of the Dinosaurs
16
4 A Call From Islam
28
5 A Technical Knockout
40
6 The Exile
51
7 Resurrection of a Heavyweight
63
8 The Greatest
77
9 The Champion of Change
88
10 Reintroduction to the World
100
Chronology 112
Further Reading 114
Index 115
About the Contributors 124
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Introduction
Nearly 20 years ago, Chelsea House Publishersbegan to publish
the first volumes in the series called BLACK AMERICANS OF
ACHIEVEMENT.This series eventually numbered over a hundred
books and profiled outstanding African Americans from
many walks oflife.Today,ifyou ask school teachers and school
librarians what comes to mind when you mention Chelsea
House,many will say—“Black Americans of Achievement.”
The mix of individuals whose lives we covered was eclectic,
to say the least. Some were well known—Muhammad Ali
and Dr.Martin Luther King,Jr,for example.But others,such
as Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, were lesser-known
figures who were introduced to modern readers through these
books. The individuals profiled were chosen for their actions,
their deeds,and ultimately their influence on the lives ofothers
and their impact on our nation as a whole. By sharing these
stories of unique Americans, we hoped to illustrate how
ordinary individuals can be transformed by extraordinary
circumstances to become people of greatness. We also hoped
that these special stories would encourage young-adult readers
to make their own contribution to a better world.Judging from
the many wonderful letters we have received about the BLACK
AMERICANS OF ACHIEVEMENT biographies over the years from
students,librarians,and teachers,they have certainly fulfilled
the goal of inspiring others!
Now, some 20 years later, we are publishing 18 volumes of
the original BLACKAMERICANSOFACHIEVEMENTseries in revised
editions to bring the books into the twenty-first century and
vi
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INTRODUCTION vii
make them available to a new generation ofyoung-adult readers.The
selection was based on the importance of these figures to American
life and the popularity of the original books with our readers.These
revised editions have a new full-color design and,wherever possible,
we have added color photographs. The books have new features,
including quotes from the writings and speeches of leaders and
interesting and unusual facts about their lives. The concluding
section of each book gives new emphasis to the legacy of these men
and women for the current generation of readers.
The lives of these African-American leaders are unique and
remarkable.By transcending the barriers that racism placed in their
paths, they are examples of the power and resiliency of the human
spirit and are an inspiration to readers.
We present these wonderful books to our audience for their
reading pleasure.
Lee M.Marcott
Chelsea House Publishers
August 2004
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1
Miss Velvet Green
On a warm and humid dayon April 28,1967,Muhammad Ali,the
heavyweight boxing champion of the world, does not go to
the gym for a workout.Instead,the 25-year-old fighter makes
his way to the federal courthouse in Houston,Texas.Ali,whose
legal residence is the state of Kentucky rather than Texas,has
nonetheless come to know Houston quite well: Only two
months earlier,he fought and won a brutal 15-round match
against Ernie Terrell in Houston’s Astrodome; and three
months before that, in November 1966, he fought Cleveland
Williams in an easier match at that same venue. Ali is not in
Houston on this spring day to fight any one man,however.He
has been summoned to Texas to report for induction into the
armed forces of the United States of America.
A large crowd of onlookers has gathered at the courthouse
by the time Ali and his lawyers arrive.A mob of reporters and
photographers rush him as he gets out of a taxi at the foot of
1