On April 28, 1967, boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army and was immediately stripped of his heavyweight title. Ali, a Muslim, cited religious reasons for his
decision to forgo military service.
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., in Louisville, Kentucky, on
January 14, 1942, the future three-time world champ changed
his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 after converting to Islam.