Muhammad Ali: The Making of an Icon (Sporting)

247 Pages·2009·2.56 MB·English

by  Michael Ezra

Muhammad Ali
In the series Sporting, edited by Amy Bass
Thomas Hauser, The Boxing Scene
David Wangerin, Soccer in a Football World: The Story of
America’s Forgotten Game
Grant Farred, Long Distance Love: A Passion for Football
Tommie Smith, Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith
Michael Ezra
Muhammad Ali
The Making of an Icon
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Philadelphia
Temple University Press
1601 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122
www.temple.edu/tempress
Copyright © 2009 by Temple University
All rights reserved
Published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z39.48–1984
Library of Congress Catal oging- in- Publication Data
Ezra, Michael, 1972–
Muhammad Ali : The making of an icon / Michael Ezra.
p. cm. – (Sporting (SPRT))
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 1- 59213- 661- 2 (hardcover : alk. paper)—
ISBN 978- 1- 59213- 662-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Ali, Muhammad, 1942- 2. Boxers (Sports)—United States—Biography. I. Title.
GV1132.A4E97 2009
796.83092—dc22
2008034323
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
For David Katzman
Beloved mentor and living proof of the very best the world has to offer

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Why Another Book about Muhammad Ali? 1
PART I Louisville Sponsoring Group
Louisville’s Favorite Son: The Professional Debut 7
Choosing Management: The Courtship of Cassius Clay 14
The Early Bouts, 1961–1962 29
Clay vs. Moore: The Seminal Text 40
The Most Hated Man in Boxing? The Early Bouts, 1963 49
Damage Control through Moral Authority: The Louisville
Sponsoring Group’s Specialty 62
The Relationship between Cassius Clay and the Louisville
Sponsoring Group: A Summary 67
The Commercial Elements of Clay-L iston I 80
viii Contents
PART II Nation of Islam
Main Bout Inc.: How Commerce Affects Culture 93
Carving Out Moral Authority: Ali’s Race Man Phase 120
PART III Good People
Forty Years of Ali: The Making of an Icon 137
The Legacy of Ali’s Exile and the Nation of Islam 139
The Prodigal Son Returns 148
King of the World: The Consequences of Monarchy 154
Death of a Salesman 160
Lonnie Ali: The Savior 164
Thomas Hauser: The Literary Rehabilitation of Ali’s Legend 167
Olympic Torch: From Literature to Telev is ion 175
Beyond Moral Authority: The Apotheosis of Muhammad Ali 182
Culture Meets Commerce: The Muhammad Ali Center,
Naming Rights, and the Price of Moral Authority 186
The Backlash: Exploring Contradictory Meanings of Ali 194
Notes 199
Index 229
Ac know ledg ments
M
uhammad Ali once said in response to the many people who had
taken credit for his success, particularly his father, “Who made me is
me.” There is a part of me that feels similarly in regard to this book,
but my wiser self prevails when I think about all of the people who have
helped me to arrive at this point.
I would like to thank the Interlibrary Loan Staff at the University of Kansas’s
Watson Library for tirelessly helping me fi nd the sources that constituted the
brunt of the raw material that I shaped into this book. Sonoma State University
provided me with a summer research grant that funded a trip to Louisville, and
the National Endowment for the Humanities allowed me to participate in a
summer seminar that sowed the seeds for this book. The excellent staff at the
Filson Historical Society in Louisville also provided key support. Several people
took time out of their busy schedules to be interviewed for this book, and I am
grateful to them. They are Bob Moses, Julian Bond, John Lewis, Ernie Terrell,
Gordon Davidson, Thomas Hauser, and Robert Lipsyte. Thanks also to Thomas
Morrissey for sharing a great story about Ali’s role in averting a riot in Chicago,
and to the tag team of Chris Beckmann and Dave Tegeder for convincing me
that the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower rather than that of Rutherford B.
Hayes made for the best comparison to the Cassius Clay–Archie Moore bout.
Of the many people affi liated with Temple University Press who worked
on this book, three deserve special mention. I thank series editor Amy Bass
for her unfl inching support of this project. I thank Gary Kramer for his mar-
keting creativity. I thank Nanette Bendyna for her careful copy editing.