Burns plucked a seemingly outrageous figure from the air, £6000 and was shocked when McIntosh thrust out his hand and the deal was done. “Mac” as his friends called him, asked Burns how much money he would need to fight Johnson. It was only through the intervention of colourful entrepreneur Hugh D McIntosh who changed the course of boxing history when he staged this fight that the line was breached. Heavyweight champions in those days were white, drawing the “colour line” as it was called in their refusal to fight African American boxers. The thought that a black man would upset their white champ was impossible for the crowd to countenance and the punters amongst them had made Burns the heavily backed favourite.įor two years Johnson had pursued Burns around the world attempting in vain to get the champ to fight him. The fact that his opponent for this World Heavyweight Boxing Championship bout, Tommy Burns stood only five foot seven was immaterial for Burns was white and the darling of the crowd and Johnson, the challenger was black. When Jack Johnson, standing just over six feet tall and possessing a well-muscled physique, climbed into the ring at the Sydney Stadium on Boxing Day in 1908, the 20,000 strong crowd was certain he was going to lose. The fight was to change the history of boxing with Johnson crowned the first black Heavyweight World Champion. 2-7 With Walter Heller, Fr.World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Tommy Burns was finally enticed to fight challenger Jack Johnson at the Sydney Stadium in Rushcutters Bay, Boxing Day 1908. Jimmy Carter- With Muhammad Ali and group ( NAID 842992) 5860, the Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act of 1979, Fr. 4-26 Jimmy Carter - With Muhammad Ali, Fr. 3-26 Jimmy Carter - With Muhammad Ali, Fr. Record Group 21: District Courts of the United States Criminal Case Files, 1908-1973 National Archives Identifier 563137 WJC-WHPO - Photographs of the White House Photograph Office (Clinton) WJC-AG-PO - Vice Presidential Records of the White House Photograph Office (Clinton) JC-WHPO - Records of the White House Press Office (Carter) JC-WHSP - Carter White House Photographs Collection GWB-WHPO - Records of the White House Photo Office (George W.
GRF-WHPO - White House Photographic Office (Ford)
GRF-0059 - White House Central Files Name Files (Ford) RG 412 - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) RG 220 - Temporary Committeess, Commissions, and Boards RG 111 - Office of the Chief Signal Officer RG 21 - District Courts of the United States Social Networks and Archival Context - Muhammad Ali Selected Photographs from the National Archives Search the Catalog for records on Muhammad Ali National Archives YouTube Videos on Muhammad Ali Also, a motion picture, sound recordings and several photographs of Ali at State Dinners and meetings with sitting presidents. There are also records of FBI surveillance of Muhammad Ali in various parts of the country and his time spent with the members of the Nation of Islam. United States) relating to his refusal of induction for the Vietnam War draft.
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During his suspension from 1967-1970, Ali became an activist and toured around the world speaking to civil rights organizations and anti-war groups.Īfter 1970, Ali regained the title of heavyweight champion after defeating George Foreman in a match known as "The Rumble in the Jungle." He continued fighting until 1981, ending his career with a 56-5 professional record.īlack Power records at the National Archives related to Muhammad Ali consist of the court case ( Clay v. As a result of his actions, boxing officials decided to punish Ali by stripping him of his titles and suspending him from the game of boxing.
In 1967, Ali had been reigning world heavyweight champion for three years when he publicly refused to be inducted into the American military during the Vietnam War. It was also around this time that Clay became a member of the Nation of Islam, announcing his name as Cassius X, then Muhammad Ali in 1964. He won the gold medal in light heavyweight boxing and returned to the United States to pursue his professional boxing career shortly thereafter. At the age of 18, Ali traveled to Rome, Italy to participate in the 1960 Olympics. Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad Ali is consistently ranked as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
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