Posted on 07/08/2004 11:19:54 AM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
Nearly four decades after he filled the Astrodome for a pair of championship fights, then relinquished his heavyweight boxing title by placing principles ahead of profession, Muhammad Ali will return to Houston next Tuesday to throw out the first pitch for the All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park.
Ali's selection was disclosed Wednesday by Ed Goren, the president of Fox Sports, which will broadcast the game Tuesday night.
"It should be one of the most historic moments fans will ever see at an All-Star Game," Goren said.
This will not be the first time Ali has participated in the opening ceremony of a major sports event. He lit the Olympic flame to open the 1996 Games in Atlanta, but his selection for the honorary first pitch by Major League Baseball will provide a historic footnote for the 75th All-Star Game, played in a city deeply intertwined with Ali's remarkable past.
Ali fought four times in Houston, defeating Cleveland Williams in 1966, Ernie Terrell in 1967 and Jimmy Ellis and Buster Mathis in separate 1971 fights. His brief relationship with Houston, however, is best remembered for what happened in the midst of those four fights.
On April 28, 1967, Ali refused induction into the military at the old U.S. Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station on San Jacinto in downtown Houston. Asked to explain his decision, Ali wrote, "I refuse to be inducted into the armed forces of the United States because I claim to be exempt as a minister of the religion of Islam."
Although his stand was unpopular in many parts of the country, at least one protester outside the draft board's office took up for the champion. "Draft beer," his sign read, "not Ali."
Ali was indicted 10 days later by a federal grand jury and convicted, on June 20, 1967, by a federal court jury in Houston of violating the Universal Military Training and Service Act. He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000.
Although he never went to prison while the case was being appealed, Ali's boxing career came to a halt for more than three years. He was stripped of his titles, and no state in the union would grant him a boxing license until 1970.
Ali spoke with flamboyant lack of elegance at the time regarding his opinions on the Vietnam War.
"I ain't got no quarrel with those Viet Cong," he said.
But his stand had a solid foundation in his newfound religion and his long-held beliefs regarding the discrimination suffered by African-Americans.
"If it was about helping blacks," he said in a recent interview with U.S. News and World Report, "I would have gone in a minute."
Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Ali's favor in 1971, overturning the conviction, and he returned to the ring for his second and third memorable fights against Joe Frazier and two more stints as world champion. He retired from the ring in 1981.
Ali, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, has returned to the city over the years, including a 1997 appearance benefiting the Houston Area Parkinson Society. The All-Star Game, however, will give Houston fans a chance to cheer him in the same manner they did almost 40 years ago at the old Dome.
Sharing the spotlight with Ali will be Pamela Washburn, 47, an Atlanta Braves fan from Conyers, Ga., who won a fan drawing for an expenses-paid trip to Houston for the All-Star Game and a chance to throw out one of the ceremonial first pitches.
Washburn's name was entered in the contest by her brother, the Rev. Richard Zivic. Zivic entered his sister's name without her knowledge while attending a Minnesota Twins home game.
"Just a few days before, I had helped him with something, and he said, `I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you,' " Washburn told mlb.com. "When I told him that I had won, he said, `I just totally believe in divine intervention.' "
On April 28, 1967, Ali refused induction into the military at the old U.S. Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station on San Jacinto in downtown Houston. Asked to explain his decision, Ali wrote, "I refuse to be inducted into the armed forces of the United States because I claim to be exempt as a minister of the religion of Islam."
What a stupid pick. Poor timing, sends the wrong message, highlights the worst side of him. And its not like he hasn't been honored before. Gee Houston, every consider trying to be original, instead of the same old wannabe copycating? "New York has a subway, so by gosh Houston needs one, too. Gotta be world class, dontchaknow. Gee, maybe if we have a liberal controversial celebration of anti-Americanism the elites will accept us."
This is so typical for the inside-the-loopees.
"What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on down there?"
I sincerely doubt that Ali would have been allowed to keep his fortune under a communist regime.
He refused induction, and accepted the consequences.
He did not run to another country, or go underground.
Don't know if he still lives there, but wouldn't George Foreman have been a better pick?
I wonder if he thinks the white folks in today's military are fighting for just the white folks...
Good distinction, but the title line for posting articles is too limited. Similar enough for the point to stand: He refused to serve his country, was made a hero by the anti-American crowd for that, and it is NOT an act that should be highlighted and honored, especially during wartime.
Good suggestion, but Foreman might have tried to pitch his grill!
I dunno, call me crazy, but 7 no-hitter, 5000+ strikeout king, former Astro, Alvin native, still in Texas, Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan just might have been the best pick to throw out the first pitch. Especially since the fools in baseball never awarded one of the 10 best pitchers in history a single Cy Young.
But then Nolan is a Republican...
I saw nothing wrong with Ali's refusal to be inducted. He had a legitimate exemption that the army selectively refused to honor because of his fame and outspoken views.
It's a good thing we won the war without him, then. God knows what might have happened if we'd lost in Vietnam.
I always thought Cassius Clay became a bore after his 1st bout with Sonny Liston. But the media culture hailed him as so profound.
There were two boxers that beat him in his prime, Ken Norton and Joe Frazier. There were others that got lousy decisions like Jimmy Young and Ken Norton in defeat and then there was Ron Lyle that had a referree stop the contest when Lyle was still a force for contention. Clay was good but not the Greatest. 25 successful title defenses is a record Louis set that will likely stand for a helluva long time. Marciano and Tunney retiring undefeated also showed some ring smarts that the Islamie wannabe lacked.
However, nobody will be watching now that MLB doesn't care if there is a winner and believes "ties" are just fine.
Ali throwing out the first pitch ought to shake things up a bit.
Nolan Ryan --- I agree, he was the first one I thought of.
Why have a Muslim boxer be THE highlight of a BASEBALL game showcase???
Since early October, billboards in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan have shown President Reagan throwing a playful punch at the jaw of Muhammad Ali while Joe Frazier and Floyd Patterson look on. The words ''We're voting for the man'' accompany the scene. The three former heavyweight champions have all endorsed the Republican Presidential ticket and the Reagan-Bush '84 committee is taking advantage of their support.
But what the hell, let's bash him anyway. Makes us feel special.
I wonder how physically difficult it will be for him to throw that pitch. I was at the basketball finals of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta when Ali came out during half time and was re-awarded his Olympic medal. I have never been in a place with so many people that was so quiet. As he walked out, the place suddenly became eerily silent. He was a shell of his former self, hardly able to walk out to the awards stand, shaking and jerking the entire time.
The essence of civil disobedience is the willingness to accept the consequences of that act.
Nobody disagrees with that.
I think the disagreement is over whether one of "the consequences of that act" should be a place of honor at a major event for the national pastime during another war.
I don't think that you want Nolan Ryan. I can just see Mike Piazza approaching the mound to tell the starting NL pitcher that Nolan had better stuff...
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