The Man Who Stood Still - April 28, 1967

About this episode

This episode explores Muhammad Ali's refusal of military induction on April 28, 1967, and the subsequent events that unfolded.

On April 28, 1967, Muhammad Ali refused military induction in Houston and was stripped of his title before the day was out. Most people know the broad arc. Fewer know that Ali reportedly told Sugar Ray Robinson he couldn't refuse that Elijah Muhammad had ordered it, or that the Supreme Court reversal came within one vote of going the other way, decided ultimately by a procedural technicality rather than principle. This episode holds all of it at once: the courage, the institutional pressure, the servicemen who had no Ali option, and the accidental chain of events that made him a free man.

People in this episode

Host: Richard G Backus

Topics covered

• Muhammad Ali
• civil rights
• military service
• Supreme Court
• boxing history
• courage
• institutional pressure

Keywords

• Muhammad Ali
• military induction
• Supreme Court
• boxing
• civil rights
• Elijah Muhammad
• Sugar Ray Robinson
• courage
• institutional pressure

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Supreme Court

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