Muhammad Ali … from Paladin, to Pariah, to Pitchman

Cassius Clay was Superman. The poetic pugilist stood for everything a young male wanted to become: self-confident, physically powerful, intelligent, fearless, wealthy, and famous — a 20th century gladiator.

He was also a black man, which communicated volumes to teenagers wanting to see the promise of Civil Rights fully manifested with the installation of African American heroes in the mythology of the growing counterculture of the 1960s. He represented the best and brightest of a new breed of trans-racial heroes beginning to emerge in sports, business, cinematic arts, and politics.

Muhammad Ali, his adopted Muslim name, was black and belligerent; black and beneficent; black and bold. He quickly became one of the most recognized and admired athletes worldwide, a fact that eventually became enshrined with his installation as the Sportsman of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated magazine in December 1999.

Born January 17, 1942, Cassius Marcellus Clay won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division of the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. He soon captured media attention with his smooth-talking self-confidence and wit. In his own self-assessment: “Cassius Clay is a boxer who can throw the jive better than anybody.”

He helped catapult boxing to the forefront of spectator sporting events when he fought Sonny Liston in Miami for the world heavyweight boxing title. While promoting this match, he coined his famous rhythmic chant, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” At the age of 22, he became the pretty prince of boxing.

During this time of rampant racism, and having been inspired by bellicose black activist Malcolm X, he decided to join the Nation of Islam and adopt the name Muhammad Ali, which in Muslim means “beloved of Allah.” Cassius Clay became a Black Muslim in 1963, and he also became a symbol of all that America was beginning to fear: Black Muslims, Black Power, and Black Panthers. In so doing, he turned his back on mainstream America by rejecting the “slave name” upon which rested his early fame.

Defying the white establishment, this once powerful symbol of Olympic triumph and The American Dream picked up another burning torch that inspired the downtrodden, disfranchised, and dispossessed worldwide.

In 1967, he refused the draft on religious grounds, and the World Boxing Federation stripped him of his title and boxing license. The U.S. government charged him for violating the Selective Service Act. He told the media, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet-Cong. No Viet-Cong ever called me nigger.”

In spite of his moral and religious objections, the get-Cassius faction across America condemned him as a traitor, and the courts sentenced him to five years in prison. Quickly released on appeal, his conviction was overturned in 1970.

With a unique combination of skill, style and character, “The Greatest” became a three-time heavyweight champion and the world’s most acclaimed athlete. He became a symbol of conquest, and he became the object of racial derision.

As an advertising spokesman during the final few years of his career, this superstar athlete and defiant radical transformed once more to become a powerful symbol of achievement in the face of adversity. He was the go-to retired athlete for today’s companies adopting revitalized brand images of courage, character, and charisma.

He was the “best a man can get,” according to Gillette.