Beyond the Boxer: Ali and the Humanitarian Within

1954

Photograph courtesy of the Courier-Journal, 1954.

1954

Before Muhammad Ali changed his name from Cassius M. Clay, Jr., before he became a professional boxer, and before he even won Olympic Gold in 1960, he already had experience with charity and good deeds. 

At just 12 years old, Cassius Clay, Jr. participated in an amateur boxing exhibition to raise funds for a Christmas party for under privileged children. The exhibition was held at Iroquois Hill Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars in Louisville, Kentucky. There was no admission fee for the amatuer boxing show. Instead, according to a Courier-Journal article from December 11, 1954, a hat was passed around to collect donations. 

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