SANDY KOZEL

2014

James (Jay) Douglas Muir Leno is 72 today.

On February 25, 1964, 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocked the odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny
Liston in a seventh-round technical knockout. The dreaded Liston,
who had twice demolished former champ Floyd Patterson in one
round, was an 8-to-1 favorite. However, Clay predicted victory,
boasting that he would “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” and
knock out Liston in the eighth round.

Muhammad Ali
(born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.)
(January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016)

Muhammad Ali (right) wins his third heavyweight crown by defeating Leon Spinks.

On September 15, 1978, boxer Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks
at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans to win the world heavyweight boxing title for the third time in his career, the first
fighter ever to do so. Following his victory, Ali retired from boxing,
only to make a brief comeback two years later. Ali, who once
claimed he could “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” left the s
port permanently in 1981.

CARLATA BRADLEY

John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987)

Gleason was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts &
Sciences Television Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2000 a statue of
him as Ralph Kramden (below) was installed at the Miami
Beach Bus Terminal.

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.