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4 Sporting Superstars: Pele & Muhammad Ali
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In the 1960s there emerged two sportsmen both black men from unpromising backgrounds - who each won vast fortunes and became amongst the best known faces and names in the world.
The two of them challenged many conventional assumptions about the place of the sportsman in modem society.
The “football phenomenon” has been the subject of several scientific studies. Nevertheless, no sociologist or psychologist has been able to demonstrate exactly how the football virus was transmitted to the entire human race. Football is the only passion that people harbour from adolescence to the grave..
Pele and World Cup Finals
Bom in 1940 in the small town of Tres Coraçöes in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) began playing professional soccer for the Santos club at the age of 16. He first learned the game of soccer from his father, Dondinho, who was a decent center forward until his career was halted by a fractured leg.
In a career spanning 20 years and over 1300 games, Pele established unparalleled scoring records. Late in a career which had witnessed three World Cup Final victories for his native Brazil, he became the focus for the expansion of the game in North America. His pre-eminence as a sporting legend made hlm a powerful symbol of the possibilities of sport as an avenue to social mobility in the 1970s. He was the highest- salaried team athlete in history and probably the richest.At the club level he shattered records in Brazil. He scored 127 goals for Santos F.C. in 1959, 110 in 1961 and 101 goals in 1965, and led the club to two World Club championships.
Muhammad Ali and Heavyweight Championships
Sonny Lizton lost to Cassius Clay in 1964 and was defeated by the same boxer, now Muhammad Ali, in a 1965 rematch. Both fights were controversial. In the first bout, Liston failed to answer the bell in the seventh round; in the second match, Ali felled Liston with a punch ringside observers said did not land. After his loss to Ali he fought mostly undistinguished opponents, losing a North American Boxing Federation title fight to Leotis Martin by a knockout in 1969. He won fifty of fifty-four professional bouts, thirty-nine by knockout. His career was marred, however, by his criminal record and alleged connections with organized crime. Sadly, he died of a drug overdose.
As a sporting role model for young blacks he explidtly confronted racial stereotypes. His audacity in promoting his own ability, his successful challenge for the world heavyweight championship in 1964, his conversion to Islam, his stand against the Vietnam War and the regaining of "his" world title all thrust him into the center of world sport.
In the 20th century American boxers have monopolized the world heavyweight championship. The pre-eminence of black champions since 1956 has fueled racist sentiments. Ali hlmself saw boxing as "the fastest way for a black person to make it in this country". As his career developed, many people were prepared to pay vast sums to see him beaten.
In 1966, Ali claimed consdentious objector status because of his Black Muslim beliefs. He was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his world titles and had his boxing licence revoked.
In1970, the United States Supreme Court unanimously reversed the conviction and Ali was allowed to fight again. In 1971 he fought Joe Frazier for the world heavyweight title and lost in 15 rounds. Three years later he defeated George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, to regain the world title and in the process earned $5,450,000.
In the six years after his return to boxing, Ali eahled an estimated $26 million; but shortly after his retirement he was diagnosed as having suffered brain damage from his boxing career.
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