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H2O Man

(73,333 posts)
Tue Feb 25, 2014, 12:52 PM Feb 2014

Cassius X & The Beatles

There are times when events in the worlds of music and/or sports have great cultural influence. Last night, for example, I went to a public library to watch a documentary film about The Beatles invading America. The friend who invited me works as a librarian there; I told her that I was curious to see if the film would include The Beatles visit to the Miami training camp of a young man people knew as Cassius Clay. It did not.

Today marks 50 years since Cassius scored one of the biggest upsets in sports' history. I've been reading through an old scrapbook of newspaper and magazine articles leading up to the bout, as well as a mint-condition copy of The Ring magazine published three weeks earlier. Very few members of the boxing community gave Cassius any chance of winning. In fact, the majority of "experts" were sure that Liston would flatten the young challenger in one round.

I still have my copy of an album released by Cassius Clay, titled, "I am the Greatest!" It features 15 "rounds" of Cassius's poetry, which was a big part of his getting the public's attention. I would speculate that this album was likely what caught The Beatles' attention. There are numerous photographs that document the initial meeting between these five young men who would, quite literally, change the world.

My favorite part of this curious encounter came when Cassius was exchanging verbal jabs with The Beatles. Older DUers will remember that, a half-century ago, athletes and musicians were expected to be humble when talking to the press. Especially black athletes. The only exception to this unwritten rule was the man who held the heavyweight title 50 years earlier, the great Jack Johnson.

Cassius had as fast a tongue as he did a jab. Reporters found him fun to interview, because one never knew what this kid might say. After Paul and George traded some good-natured insults with Cassius, he sai, "You ain't as dumb as you look!" John deadpanned: "No, but you are."

The fight was almost called off, when the press began reporting that Malcolm X was hanging out with Clay's camp. What these reporters didn't know was that Cassius was already a member of the Nation of Islam. In fact, he had already taken the name "Cassius X" weeks before the fight. The promoter had struck a deal with Angelo Dundee, Cassius's trainer, to have Malcolm stay fully out of sight.
Malcolm was, of course, suspended from the NOI at that time. This was officially due to Malcolm's comments to reporters after President Kennedy was murdered. Looking back, today we know that there was much more to Malcolm's suspension.
Elijah Mohammad, the leader of the NOI, found Cassius an interesting character, but did not want to be associated with him before the Liston bout. Elijah believed that Sonny would humiliate Cassius in the ring.

Among the very few people who favored Cassius were Malcolm, former heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott, and a young reporter named Howard Cosell. They knew that Sonny had actually reached his peak a couple of years before he won the title. In recent years, Liston had devastated his opponents quickly. While that was impressive enough to have most boxing writers compare him with the great Joe Louis, it meant that he could have difficulties in any bout that went beyond two or three rounds.

Liston was a physically imposing man. He was the biggest heavyweight champion in many years (only Jess Willard and Primo Carnera had been bigger, but neither of them were considered to be great fighters), What people didn't realize was that Cassius was actually larger than Sonny.

At the weigh-in on the morning of the fight, Cassius worked himself into a frenzy. The doctor said Clay's blood pressure was far too high, and wanted to call off the bout. An hour later, the doctor was surprised to find Cassius's bllod pressure had returned to normal. He told Malcolm that he knew the only thing Sonny might be afraid of was a crazy man; hence, he acted crazy.

During the day, away from reporters, Liston was on the phone with 15-year old Timothy Smith. The boy was dying of muscular dystrophy. Although the press rarely reported on this side of "the Bear," Liston loved children, and frequently visited children's hospitals. He had spent a significant amount of money since winning the title, to make sure sick and poor children had good Christmases and birthdays.

Malcolm would sit in seat #7 in the 7th row for the fight. He believed this confirmed that Cassius would win the fight in seven rounds. He would visit the challenger in his dressing room a half-hour before the bout, and tell him that this bout was far bigger than boxing: it was the Cross versus the Crescent, being telecast around the globe.

The fight itself remains one of boxing's greatest. Cassius won by TKO when Sonny failed to come out for round seven. But it so surprised the "experts," that few journalists understood the true significance of what they had just witnessed.

The following morning, the new champion told reporters that he was a member of the NOI. He said his name was now "Cassius X." Within the next 48 hours, Elijah Mohammad would give him the name Muhammad Ali. What is in a name? In this case, it signaled that Ali had decided to stay with the NOI, rather than join Malcolm in the new organization he was planning. Had Ali stuck with Malcolm, his life would have taken a very different course.

Note: the next time that Lennon and Ali would be seen together would be at President Jimmy Carter's inauguration party.

Ali and The Beatles would play significant roles in the decade of the sixties. All five of these men would make the world a better place to live, and their influence on culture went far beyond the ring, the stage, or the recording studio.

Peace,
H2O Man

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Cassius X & The Beatles (Original Post) H2O Man Feb 2014 OP
2-25-64 H2O Man Feb 2014 #1
kick napkinz Feb 2014 #2
Oh noes ! Berlum Feb 2014 #3
Float like a butterfly, sting like a ... napkinz Feb 2014 #4
Thank you! H2O Man Feb 2014 #6
thanks....k&r... spanone Feb 2014 #5

H2O Man

(73,333 posts)
6. Thank you!
Tue Feb 25, 2014, 09:24 PM
Feb 2014

Looking at pictures of young Cassius today, I find myself thinking about how beautiful he was. And what a perfect build for a boxer.

I also enjoyed watching one of his daughters being interviewed on the news today.

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