Blood Brothers (51 page)

62
. For Conrad's encounter with MacDonald, see Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 66–67; Remnick,
King of the World
, 170–171.

Chapter 11

1
.
CT
, February 24, 1964.

2
. For descriptions of activities in Clay's Miami house, see: Plimpton,
Shadow Box
, 106–109, and “Miami Notebook: Cassius Clay and Malcolm X,”
Harper's Magazine
, June 1964, 60–61.

3
. Evanzz,
The Judas Factor
, 186.

4
. Ibid.

5
.
NYP
, March 3, 1964; Goldman,
The Death and Life
, 128–129; Evanzz,
Judas Factor
, 211; Marqusee,
Redemption Song
, 77; Marable,
Malcolm X
, 286.

6
.
NYT
, February 22, 1964.

7
. For the weigh-in, see:
NYJA
. February 25, 1964;
NYT
, February 26, 1964;
LAT
, February 26, 1964;
MH
, February 26, 1964; Murray Kempton, “Cassius Clay: ‘I Whipped Him and I'm Still Pretty,'”
New Republic
, March 7, 1964, 9; Dundee,
My View from the Corner
, 95.

8
. Gordon Davidson interview with author; William Faversham interview with Jack Olsen, JOP; Gordon Davidson interview with Jack Olsen, JOP; Olsen,
Black Is Best
, 111–115.

9
. Jerry Izenberg interview with author.

10
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 70.

11
.
NYJA
, February 25, 1964; Pacheco,
Fight Doctor
, 63.

12
. Kempton, “Cassius Clay,” 9.

13
.
MH
, February 22, 1964.

14
.
NYT
, February 23, 1964.

15
. Mee,
Liston & Ali
, 186; Remnick,
King of the World
, 186.

16
. For Plimpton's meeting with Malcolm, see his “Miami Notebook,” 58, and
Shadow Box
, 94–99.

17
. “Welcome, Sportsman,”
SI
, February 24, 1964, 8; Tex Maule, “Yes, It Was Good and Honest,”
SI
, March 9, 1964, 20–25;
MH
, February 26, 1964.

18
. Lipsyte,
An Accidental Sportswriter
, 62;
LAT
, February 23, 1964;
MH
, February 23, 1964.

19
.
MH
, February 23, 1964;
NYJA
, February 24, 1964;
NYHT
, February 25, 1964;
LCJ
, February 22, 1964, and February 23, 1964;
NYJA
, February 24, 1964.

20
. Jerry Izenberg interview with author.

21
. Ibid.

22
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 72–73; Pacheco,
Fight Doctor
, 65–66.

23
. Remnick,
King of the World
, 187.

24
.
AMX
, 335; Evanzz,
The Judas Factor
, 187.

25
. Guralnick,
Dream Boogie
, 557; Evanzz,
The Judas Factor
, 188.

26
. Evanzz,
The Judas Factor
, 188;
AMX
, 336.

27
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 74.

28
. Barry Gottehrer, “How Cassius Clay Tricked the World,”
Sport
, June, 1964, 85.

29
. For Clay's thoughts during the fight, see: “Playboy Interview: Cassius Clay,”
Playboy
, October 1964, 78–80.

30
. Descriptions of the fight are from the TNT production “Sonny Liston vs Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) Boxing Match,” YouTube,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OezriPEepZs
. For coverage also see:
MH
, February 26, 1964;
NYT
, February 26, 1964;
LCJ
, February 26, 1964;
NYHT
, February 26, 1964; Tex Maule, “Yes, It Was Good and Honest,”
SI
, March 9, 1964, 20–25.

31
. Jerry Izenberg interview with author;
LAT
, February 26, 1964.

32
. Maule, “Yes, It Was Good and Honest,” 22.

33
. Jerry Izenberg interview with author; Hauser,
The Lost Legacy of Muhammad Ali
, 138–139; Thomas Hauser interview with author; Mike Silver, “Foul Play in Philly?,”
Boxing.com
, April 30, 2014,
http://www.boxing.com/foul_play_in_philly.html
.

34
. Maule, “Yes, It Was Good and Honest,” 23; Jerry Izenberg also discounted the “juiced gloves” story based on his view that Joe Polino was an “honorable man.” Izenberg interview with author.

35
. For the story in the corner, see: Anderson,
In the Corner
, 66–67; Dundee,
I Only Talk Winning
, 194; Fried,
Corner Men
, 4; Dundee,
My View from the Corner
, 101–102; Pacheco,
Fight Doctor
, 67–69.

36
. Remnick,
King of the World
, 196.

37
. Dundee,
My View from the Corner
, 103.

38
. “Playboy Interview: Cassius Clay,” 80.

39
. Ibid.

40
. Maule, “Yes, It Was Good and Honest,” 24.

41
. Ibid., 23.

42
. “Playboy Interview: Cassius Clay,” 80.

43
.
LAT
, February 26, 1964.

44
. Ibid.;
AMX
, 336.

45
. Maule, “Yes, It Was Good and Honest,” 24.

46
.
LAT
, February 26, 1964.

47
. Red Smith, “I'm the Greatest,” in
American Pastimes: The Very Best of Red Smith,
ed. Daniel Okrent (New York: Library of America, 2013), 364.

Chapter 12

1
. George Plimpton, “Miami Notebook: Cassius Clay and Malcolm X,”
Harper's Magazine
, June 1964, 60.

2
. Ibid.

3
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 106; Gordon Davidson interview with author.

4
.
MH
, February 26, 1964.

5
. Plimpton, “Miami Notebook: Cassius Clay and Malcolm X,” 60.

6
.
MH
, May 23, 2013.

7
. Interview with Alex Haley, “Eyes on the Prize Interviews,” October 24, 1988, EYES.

8
. Jim Brown with Steve Delsohn,
Out of Bounds
, 187; Jim Brown with Myron Cope,
Off My Chest
, 162–166.

9
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 106.

10
.
AMX
, 337.

11
. Brown,
Out of Bounds
, 189.

12
. Huston Horn, “The First Days in the New Life of the Champion of the World,”
SI
, March 9, 1964, 26.

13
. Ibid., 26.

14
. For the story of the reporters' visit, see:
LAT
, February 27, 1964; Horn, “The First Days in the New Life of the Champion of the World,” 26–27.

15
.
MH
, February 26, 1964;
NYT
, February 26, 1964; Horn, “The First Days in the New Life of the Champion of the World,” 27.

16
.
MH
, February 27, 1964.

17
.
NYT
, February 27, 1964.

18
. Ibid.

19
. Unless otherwise cited, for Clay's press conference, see:
NYT
, February 27, 1964;
MH
, February 27, 1964; Lipsyte,
An Accidental Sportswriter
, 68–69; Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 81–84; Remnick,
King of the World
, 205–209.

20
.
NYT
, February 27, 1964.

21
. Ibid.

22
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 84.

23
. Abdul Rahman Muhammad (Sam Saxon) interview with author;
NYT
, February 27, 1964;
CT
, February 27, 1964;
MS
, March 13, 1964.

24
.
CT
, February 27, 1964.

25
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 100.

26
.
MS
, March 13, 1964.

27
. Horn, “The First Days in the New Life of the Champion of the World,” 54.

28
. Collings, ed.,
Muhammad Ali
, 266–267.

29
.
MH
, February 28, 1964.

30
. Horn, “The First Days in the New Life of the Champion of the World,” 57;
MH
, February 28, 1964.

31
. Olsen,
Black Is Best
, 93.

32
.
NYT
, February 28, 1964.

33
. Horn, “The First Days in the New Life of the Champion of the World,” 57.

34
. Abdul Rahman Muhammad (Sam Saxon) interview with author.

Chapter 13

1
. “Prizefighting: Cassius X,”
Time
, March 13, 1964, 78;
NYDN
, March 2, 1964;
NYT
, March 2, 1964; Bobbie E. Barbee, “Will Link with Malcolm X Harm Clay's Career?,”
Jet
, March 26, 1964, 50.

2
. “Playboy Interview: Cassius Clay,”
Playboy
, October 1964, 190.

3
. Wilson,
Meet Me at the Theresa
, 1–7, 77, 164; “The Waldorf of Harlem,”
Ebony
, April 1946, 8.

4
. Goldman,
The Death and Life
, 51–53; “The Professor,”
The New Yorker
, September 3, 1966, 28–29.

5
. “The Waldorf of Harlem,” 8.

6
. Goldman,
The Death and Life
, 146; Robert Penn Warren,
Who Speaks for the Negro?
, 244–245.

7
.
CT
, March 2, 1964.

8
.
CD
, March 2, 1964.

9
.
NYAN
, March 7, 1964 (emphasis ours).

10
.
NYP
, March 2, 1964;
NYHT
, March 2, 1964.

11
.
NYAN
, March 7, 1964.

12
.
NYT
, March 4, 1964; Guralnick,
Dream Boogie
, 561; Barry Gottehrer, “How Cassius Clay Tricked the World,”
Sport
, June 1964, 15; Cottrell,
Man of Destiny
, 175.

13
. Guralnick,
Dream Boogie
, 561; Cottrell,
Man of Destiny
, 175–176; United Press International, March 4, 1964;
NYJA
, March 8, 1964.

14
. FBIMXNY-57; Branch,
Pillar of Fire
, 255.

15
.
NYT
, March 5, 1964; “Prizefighting: Cassius X,” 78; “Cassius X,”
Newsweek
, March 16, 1964, 74.

16
.
NYJA
, March 6, 1964.

17
. “Prizefighting: Cassius X,” 78; Gottehrer, “How Cassius Clay Tricked the World,” 86.

18
.
LCJ
, March 4, 1964;
NYJA
, March 5, 1964;
NYHT
, March 6, 1964.

19
.
NYHT
, March 6, 1964; FBIMXNY-57.

20
. Evanzz,
The Judas Factor
, 193;
AMX
, 116–118; Carson,
Malcolm X
, 108.

21
.
NYT
, March 7, 1964.

22
. Ibid.; Marqusee,
Redemption Song
, 84.

23
. Yusuf Shah (aka Captain Joseph Gravitt) interview with Taylor Branch, October 17, 1991, TBP; FBIMXNY-57.

24
. Cottrell,
Man of Destiny
, 176; Abdul Rahman Muhammad (Sam Saxon) interview with author; FBIMXNY-57.

25
. Marable,
Malcolm X
, 290–291; Goldman,
The Death and Life
, 130–131.

26
. Branch,
Pillar of Fire
, 251.

27
. Ibid.

28
. Kram,
Ghosts of Manila
, 42.

29
. Bingham and Wallace,
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
, 86.

30
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 123. A “close relative” of Ali's also told Jack Olsen in 1966, “Cassius was searching for a father, and Elijah Muhammad is it. If Elijah tell him, ‘Don't go to war, go to jail,' he'll go to jail. That man have Cassius by the nose.” See Olsen,
Black Is Best
, 33.

31
. Collings, ed.,
Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World
, 267–268; Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 306–307; Gary Smith, “Ali and His Entourage,”
SI
, April 25, 1988, accessed at
http://www.si.com/vault/1988/04/25/117552/ali-and-his-entourage-the-champ-and-his-followers-were-the-greatest-show-on-earth-and-then-the-show-ended-but-life-went-on
.

32
. Collings, ed.,
Muhammad Ali
, 265; Jack Olsen, “Learning Elijah's Advanced Lesson in Hate,”
SI
, May 2, 1966, n.p.; Olsen,
Black Is Best
, 30, 74–75, 105–106, 133, 141.

33
.
LCJ
, March 8, 1964.

34
. Ibid.

35
. Kindred,
Sound and Fury
, 75–78.

36
. Ibid.

Chapter 14

1
.
CT
, March 14, 1964;
LAT
, March 26, 1964; Robert Lipsyte, “Cassius Clay, Cassius X, Muhammad Ali,”
NYTM
, October 25, 1964, 141.

2
. Hauser,
Muhammad Ali
, 83;
NYJA
, March 24, 1964.

3
. Clayton Riley, “Boxing: Black Hope, White Cop-Out,”
Liberator
, July 1964, 12–13;
NYJA
, March 10, 1964.

4
.
NYT
, March 29, 1964.

5
. Mee,
Liston & Ali
, 203–206; Cottrell,
Man of Destiny
, 180–181.

6
. “Prizefighting: Cassius X,”
Time
, March 13, 1964, 78;
NYJA
, March 23, 1964;
WP
, March 24, 1964; Professional Boxing Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 88th Cong., 2d Sess., Part 4: Liston-Clay Fight, (March 24–26, 30–31, 1964);
NYT
, March 29, 1964. According to a recent report, an FBI memo dated May 24, 1966, reveals that the Bureau suspected that Las Vegas gambler Irving “Ash” Resnick arranged for Liston to take a dive against Clay. An informant provided hearsay evidence to the FBI that Resnick and Liston both made over one million dollars betting against Sonny, though there has never been any concrete evidence to support this claim. See
Washington Times
, February 24, 2014.