Muhammad Ali funeral procession enters Cave Hill Cemetery
CJ’s Chie Davis reports as well wishers lined up near the entrance to Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville as the funeral procession for Muhammad Ali pulled in to The Champ’s final resting place.
Muhammad Ali fans get close as funeral procession passes
Fans of Ali greeted the hearse and family members as the procession passed along Muhammad Ali near 18th Street.
Muhammad Ali fans on why they came to see his funeral procession
Fans stationed in the 2700 block of Broadway talked about what Ali meant to them — and why they brought young family members — as they awaited the funeral procession.
Crowd at 18th Street and Muhammad Ali Blvd. cheer The Champ
Cheers of “Ali” went up as Muhammad Ali passed through west Louisville.
Central High grads celebrate the legacy of Muhammad Ali
Anaiah Anderson (hat), Cierra Carter (yellow), Eboni Porter (red) are Central High graduates who’ve come to honor the legacy of Muhammad Ali.
Deborah McDonald: Community comes together for Ali
“I have seen people all over Louisville become humanitarians, and that is so beautiful,” Deborah McDonald said as she waited for the Muhammad Ali motorcade.
Muhammad Ali – Prayer at Jenazah service
A Jenazah service was held for Muhammad Ali on Thursday in the North Hall of the Exposition Center.
June 9, 2016
Rev. Jesse Jackson on Ali’s life and legacy
The CJ’s political reporter Joe Gerth talks to Rev. Jesse Jackson in the CJ newsroom about the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali.
Video | I Am Ali Festival
The CJ’s Chie Davis looks at the first I Am Ali Festival in downtown Louisville at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.
Local martial arts teacher Terry Middleton talks about Muhammad Ali
New Albany martial arts expert Terry Middleton talks about Muhammad Ali.
Video | Thursday’s Janazah service described
Timothy J. Gianotti, PhD explains what visitors should expect during Thursday’s Janazah worship service.
Ali fans rejoice after securing memorial tickets
Fans of Muhammad Ali celebrated after securing tickets to the boxing legend’s memorial service. Some waited hours to be able to get a ticket. (June 8)
Listen to Muhammad Ali on 1962 Milton Metz radio show
Callers got to ask a 20-year-old then named Cassius Clay questions via the radio show on WHAS 840 called Juniper 5-2385 hosted by Milton Metz.
Video | Scalping tickets upsets Ali family
Ali family spokesperson Bob Gunnell talked about the scalping of Ali’s funeral tickets and what steps they are taking.
Video | Mayor Greg Fischer announces “I Am Ali Festival” and alilouisville.com
Mayor Greg Fischer held a press conference on Monday afternoon announcing a festival for children, Wednesday, at the Center for the Arts and a new website, alilouisville.com devoted to the life of Ali in the River City.
Neil Leifer shares surprising text message he received from Muhammad Ali’s widow
Former SI staff photographer Neil Leifer shares the text message Lonnie Ali sent him an hour after Muhammad Ali’s passing.
Video | Media briefing on Muhammad Ali funeral arrangements
Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell and Imam Zaid Shakir, a Muslim American Scholar, talk about further details of Muhammad Ali’s funeral.
Family spokesman describes Ali’s last days
A family spokesman for the family of Muhammad Ali said the boxing legend died of septic shock “due to unspecified natural causes.” Bob Gunnell said Ali died Friday at 9:10 p.m., spending the last hour of his life surrounded by his family.
Video | Teddy Abrams performs “Amazing Grace” at Ali Center
Louisville Orchestra Director Teddy Abrams leads a performance of “Amazing Grace” in honor of Muhammad Ali at the makeshift memorial outside the Ali Center.
Neil Leifer: Muhammad Ali’s reaction to the famous phantom punch photo
Former SI staff photographer Neil Leifer describes Muhammad Ali’s reaction to his famous photograph and how it reflects his personality.
Video | Interfaith service for Muhammad Ali at the Louisville Islamic Center
City leaders gathered at the Louisville Islamic Center for an Interfaith service to honor Muhammad Ali.
Mourners at Muhammad Ali’s childhood home
Fans of “The Greatest” turned out to mourn the loss of Louisville’s own Muhammad Ali.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: What today’s athletes can learn from Muhammad Ali
Basketball Hall of Fame center and TIME Magazine contributor Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says Muhammad Ali passed along an important lesson that current athletes could learn from.
Louisville lowers flags to half-staff in honor of Muhammad Ali
Louisville lowers flags to half-staff in honor of Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali family spokesperson addresses media
Bob Gunnell addressed the media and gave information pertaining to the passing of famed boxer Muhammad Ali, as well as the families last moments spent with Ali. Video by Patrick Breen/azcentral.com
Video | Local boxing coach talks about Ali’s exceptionalism
Louisville TKO Boxing Coach James Dixon says it was Muhammad Ali’s dedication to principle that separated him from all other athletes.
With millions watching from around the world – and 15,000 at the KFC Yum! Center – two presidents, a comedian, clergy from four faiths and family and friends on Friday gave a final farewell to Louisville’s Muhammad Ali, the three-time heavyweight champion who was hailed as a fighter for freedom and messenger of love and peace.
President Bill Clinton saluted him as a “universal soldier for humanity.”
Billy Crystal said he was like a “Shakespeare or Mozart or Picasso, who comes along only once in a thousand years.”
And President Barack Obama, in a message delivered by a senior aide, said he “showed how a descendant of slaves could become ‘king of the world’ and help inspire a skinny kid with a funny last name to have the audacity to think he could be anything – even the president of the United States.”
The three-hour ceremony was part prayer meeting, part political rally and part comedy club.
Friend John Ramsey described how he watched with Ali at ringside during the 2000 Olympics as an American won a fight – and how Ali insisted on going to the locker room afterward to cheer up the loser.
“We got in the car afterward and I told Ali, ‘You’re the Greatest,’ ” Ramsey recalled. “And he turned to me and said, ‘Tell me something I don’t know.’ ”
Crystal recalled how Ali “was funny, he was beautiful, he was the most perfect athlete in the world – and those were his own words.”
But the actor and comedian said Ali also gave young people someone to look up to when he stood up against the Vietnam War after other leaders – Malcolm X, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Bobby Kennedy were killed.
And Crystal recalled that when Ali invited him to go running one morning on a golf course, and Crystal said he couldn’t go because the club didn’t admit Jewish members. Ali told him he’d never run there again.
Memorable quotes from Ali funeral service
The ceremony began with prayers from the Quran, the sacred text of Ali’s Muslim faith, and it was moderated by an imam from Memphis.
But the ecumenical service featured messages from a Catholic priest, two rabbis and the leaders of two Indian tribes.
The start of the service was delayed by an hour and it went on for more than an hour longer than scheduled. Crystal, who wears a beard and mustache, joked that it went on so long he was clean-shaven when it started.
Amid chants of “Ali! Ali! Ali,” the first speaker, the Rev. Kevin Cosby, senior pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in Louisville, described Ali as a “silver-tongued poet” who led African Americans to a new identity.
“Before James Brown said I’m black and I’m proud,” Cosby said, “Muhammad Ali said I’m black and I’m pretty.
“He dared to love black people at a time black people had difficulty loving themselves. He dared to love America’s most unloved race. And he loved us all and we loved him because we knew he loved us, whether … you lived in the penthouse or the projects … or came from Morehouse or no house.”
Obama was attending his daughter Malia’s high school graduation, but senior aide Valerie Jarrett read a message that recalled how Ali, in 1980, at the end of his career, was the underdog against Larry Holmes, and in the end, the odds-makers were right.
Obama said that a sportswriter afterward asked a restroom attendant if he bet on the fight. The man, elderly and black, said he bet on Ali. Asked why, the man said: ‘Because he’s Muhammad Ali, and I owe the man for giving me my dignity.”
Obama said: “The man we celebrate today is not just a boxer or poet or agitator or man of peace. He was not just a Muslim or a black man or a resident of Louisville. He was Muhammad Ali. He was bigger and brighter and more influential than just about anyone of his era. And yes, he was pretty too.
“You couldn’t have made him up.”
Celebrities in attendance reportedly included Arnold Schwarzenegger, rapper Common, former NFL Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, actor and director Spike Lee, football star Jim Brown, soccer star David Beckham and actress-comedian Whoopi Goldberg.
Clinton, whose voice was raspy and who didn’t use up his allotted 20 minutes, recalled how when he was president he “cried like a baby” when he watched a trembling Ali light the Olympic flame at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
But Clinton said Ali was never “imprisoned” by his disease.
“He never wasted a day feeling sorry for himself,” Clinton said. “With his free spirit, he made his life bigger, not smaller. He was a free man of faith, and he shared the gifts we all have.”
Louisville returns love Ali showed city, world
Crystal, who like broadcaster Bryant Gumbel and Clinton were asked by Ali to speak at his funeral, recalled how he was virtually unknown when he was invited to speak at a dinner in Ali’s honor.
“He looked at me with an expression that said, ” ‘What is Joel Grey doing here?’ “
Crystal recalled how he launched into an imitation of cocksure announcer Howard Cosell, then of Ali himself – both of which he repeated at the service.
“I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark,” Crystal said.
He said Ali called him “little brother” and that they became great friends. He told how Ali – the “most famous Muslim in the world – once came to a synagogue to help him raise money for a performing arts program in Israel in which Israelis and Palestinians and Muslim artists work together on the stage.
“It doesn’t happen without him,” Crystal said.
Finally, Crystal recalled how they were sitting together at Cosell’s funeral in 1995 when Ali whispered to him, “ ‘Do you think he is wearing his hairpiece?’ ”
“I said ‘no’ and Ali asked me, ‘Well how is God going to recognize him?’ “
“Don’t worry,” Crystal said he told Ali, “Once he opens his mouth, he’ll know.”
Crystal called Ali “a silent messenger of peace who taught us that life becomes better when you build bridges, not walls.”
“He is gone but will never die,” Crystal said. “He was my big brother.”
Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at (502) 582-7189 or awolfson@courier-journal.com
Former President Bill Clinton made remarks during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Actor Will Smith arrives for the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Don King arrives for the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Arnold Schwarzenegger arrives for the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Mayor Greg Fischer arrives for the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Katie Couric arrives for the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Muhammad Ali’s widow Lonnie Ali, center, was applauded as she made remarks during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center. Her son Asaad Ali was at left.
June 10, 2016
Muhammad Ali’s widow Lonnie Ali made remarks during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Former President Bill Clinton shared a story about how Muhammad Ali made bunny ears behind him as he made remarks during Ali’s funeral at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Bryant Gumbel blew a kiss to the Muhammad Ali family following his remarks during the funeral for Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Comedian Billy Crystal gestured towards the Muhammad Ali family following his remarks at the funeral for Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Comedian Billy Crystal performed his famous Muhammad Ali impression during his remarks at the funeral for Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Muhammad Ali’s daughter Rasheda Ali-Walsh became emotional as she made remarks during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Comedian Billy Crystal performed his famous Muhammad Ali impression during his remarks at the funeral for Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Muhammad Ali’s daughter Rasheda Ali-Walsh became emotional as she made remarks during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Muhammad Ali family friend John Ramsey made remarks during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Rabbi Michael Lerner made remarks during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Ambassador Shabazz made remarks during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Faith leaders and dignitaries stood during the funeral for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center.
June 10, 2016
Bill Clinton was emotional when describing how he was 'weeping like a baby' when he watched Muhammad Ali light the the flame during the 1996 Olympics during a public memorial service for the Louisville boxer and humanitarian at Friday's public memorial service at the KFC Yum! Center.
Bill Clinton was emotional when describing how he was 'weeping like a baby' when he watched Muhammad Ali light the the flame during the 1996 Olympics during a public memorial service for the Louisville boxer and humanitarian at Friday's public memorial service at the KFC Yum! Center.
Bill Clinton was emotional when describing how he was 'weeping like a baby' when he watched Muhammad Ali light the the flame during the 1996 Olympics during a public memorial service for the Louisville boxer and humanitarian at Friday's public memorial service at the KFC Yum! Center.
Actor and comedian Billy Crystal had the audience on the ropes with his jokes and anecdotes about friend and 'my big brother' Muhammad Ali memorial service at Friday's public memorial service at the KFC Yum! Center.
Billy Crystal gives a kiss to the Ali family after his eulogy that included many jokes and anecdotes about Mahammad Ali at the boxer and humanitarian's funeral Friday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
Billy Crystal puts his hand over his heart as he looks towards the Ali family after his eulogy that included many jokes and anecdotes about Muhammad Ali at the boxer and humanitarian's funeral Friday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
Actor and comedian Billy Crystal had the audience on the ropes with his jokes and anecdotes about friend and 'my big brother' Muhammad Ali memorial service at Friday's public memorial service at the KFC Yum! Center.
An emotional Bryant Gumbel talks about how much Muhammad Ali meet to him at the boxer and humanitarian's memorial service Friday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
An emotional Bryant Gumbel talks about how much Muhammad Ali meet to him at the boxer and humanitarian's memorial service Friday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
An emotional Bryant Gumbel blows a kiss to Lonnie Ali, the widow of Muhammad Ali during the boxer and humanitarian's memorial service Friday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
An emotional Bryant Gumbel blows a kiss to Lonnie Ali, the widow of Muhammad Ali during the boxer and humanitarian's memorial service Friday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
Boxing promoter Don King greet guests at the Muhammad Ali memorial service at Friday's public memorial service at the KFC Yum! Center.
<div class="_smg-image-wrap" data-orientation="" data-imgaspectratio="1.3" data-imgcaption='John Ramsey, a long-time friend of Muhammad Ali, said Ali would have been overjoyed to see tens of thousands of people watching his casket go by. "Ali was watching from above and feeling good," Ramsey said. Imitating Ali, he said: ÒIÕm feeling so good IÕm going to make a comeback and change my name to ÔWalnut StreetÕÕ' data-imgcredit="Matt Stone, The C-J" data-imgsrc="http://i0.wp.com/www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/eefc24a8e499eb06c10e702791dd08df2da5e6ca/c=0-452-1635-1681/local/-/media/2016/06/10/Louisville/Louisville/636011870785514640-JohnRamseyatAliMemorial-1.jpg?resize=660%2C495" data-imgthumbsrc="http://i0.wp.com/www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/eefc24a8e499eb06c10e702791dd08df2da5e6ca/c=0-452-1635-1681/local/-/media/2016/06/10/Louisville/Louisville/636011870785514640-JohnRamseyatAliMemorial-1.jpg?resize=660%2C495" data-imgtitle="Gallery | Muhammad Ali funeral speakers and celebritie