Q: When Muhammad Ali fought Jerry Quarry in Atlanta in 1970, the New York Times and the radio announcers at ringside, referred to him as Cassius Clay. What year did Clay change his name to Muhammad Ali?
—Don White, Atlanta
A: Clay's name was changed to Muhammad Ali on March 6, 1964, shortly after he defeated Sonny Liston in their first heavyweight championship fight.
Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, announced Clay’s new name in a radio broadcast, Time reported.
“This Clay name has no meaning,” Muhammad said. “I hope he will accept being called by a better name. Muhammad Ali is what I will give him as long as he believes in Allah and follows me.”
Ali continued to be called Clay by many newspapers, including the New York Times, until 1970, Slate reported this month.
Slate, an online daily magazine, examined seven newspapers and found they continued to use Clay, not Ali, until after the Quarry fight at Atlanta’s Municipal Auditorium on Oct. 26, 1970.
That was Ali’s first fight after he was banned from the ring for about 3½ years, which was brought about by his refusal to enter the draft during the Vietnam War.
Slate found papers switched to using Muhammad Ali after the Associated Press announced in a memo in November of that year it would refer to Clay as Ali.
Ali said he preferred to be called that in press conferences leading up to his fight with Quarry, the memo states, and that “the Clay identity will be dropped except in long background pieces.”
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
About the Author
