Muhammad Ali – Gone But Not Forgotten

by Mike –

The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, was laid to rest today in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

We knew he was the Greatest because he told us he was and then over his lifetime he proved he was.

Among the speakers were President Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal.

He decided at a very young age to write his own life story. He decided he would never be disempowered.

Ali was a “universal soldier for our common humanity.”

President Bill Clinton

Only once in a thousand years or so do we get to hear a Mozart, or see a Picasso, read a Shakespeare. Ali was one of them. And yet, at his heart, he was still a kid from Louisville who ran with the gods and walked with the crippled and smiled at the foolishness of it all.

He is gone, but he will never die.

Billy Crystal

Below is a video of Billy Crystal at Muhammad Ali’s retirement tribute in 1979 – quite entertaining and enlightening – watch it.

RIP Champ

Read the New York Times obituary here.