Muhammad Ali, 1967
On this date in 1967, African American boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army and was immediately stripped of his heavyweight title.
Ali, a Muslim, cited religious reasons for his decision to forgo military service. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., in Louisville, Kentucky, the future three-time world champ changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 after converting to Islam.
