(Ali, Muhammad)

The conversion of Olympic and professional boxing champion Cassius Clay to the Nation of Islam in 1964 (and the changing of his "slave name" ) was seen as an important moment in Civil Rights history—a rejection by a star African-American athlete of the Establishment. His refusal to serve in Vietnam came two years later, a decision made of political and religious conscience that would severely curtail an extraordinary boxing career. For decades, Ali was perhaps the most prominent Muslim in American popular culture.

Drew Bundini Brown joined Ali's camp in 1963 and was with the champion his entire career. He previously worked for Sugar Ray Robinson. Brown is credited with helping Ali craft some of his most memorable lines including the famous "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

[With:] The Holy Bible inscribed by pioneering television evangelist Oral Roberts to Bundini Brown.