New York Post - USA (2020-10-25)

New York Post, Sunday, October 25, 2020

nypost.com

A

LL THESE years later, it is the

setting that surprises most of

all. Back in 1939, the Atlanta

Municipal Auditorium had hosted

one of the most glamorous events

in the city’s history, a ball to cele-

brate the release of “Gone With the

Wind,” the seminal Civil War-era

film set mostly within its city limits.

But on Oct. 26, 1970, a different

kind of happening was scheduled.

There were 5,100 tickets sold for

the night’s main event: a 15-round

boxing match between Muhammad

Ali and Jerry Quarry. This wasn’t

merely a sporting event, however.

The last time Ali had entered a ring

was March 22, 1967, when he

knocked out Zora Folley in seven

rounds at Madison Square Garden.

Much of the world — even the

sporting press — continued to

identify him as “Cassius Clay” be-

fore that fight against Folley. It was

his eighth title defense as heavy-

weight champion, and everyone in-

side the Garden that night — even

Ali — knew it might be his last. For

months, Ali had declared that he

would refuse induction into the

Army, citing his religious beliefs.

“This may be the last chance to

see Muhammad Ali in living color,”

the 24-year-old Ali declared in the

third person days before the fight.

“So if you have always been want-

ing to see me, you better come to

the Garden.”

And indeed, on April 28, 1967 in

Houston, Ali was three times sum-

moned to take the soldier’s oath

and agree to become a private. All

three times, he refused. He was

stripped of his title. He was banned

from the sport. Across the next

three and half years he earned a

meager living giving lectures on the

college circuit and fighting a jail

sentence, a dispute that would ulti-

mate be resolved, in his favor, by

the U.S. Supreme Court.

By the spring of 1970, Ali was

older, he was thicker, he had lost

what seemed certain to be his

prime boxing years. The city of At-

lanta was the first to grant him a li-

cense. And so it was that Ali-

Quarry went on the calendar,

scheduled for the Municipal Audi-

torium, which nine years later was

sold to Georgia State University

and today serves as its alumni cen-

ter (now known as Dahlberg Hall).

Everywhere else, of course, this

was the dominant sporting story-

line. Ali was still a pariah in many

circles, condemned as a draft

dodger. Even before that he’d been

a polarizing figure thanks to his

chatty confidence and his conver-

sion to Islam. Still, in an America in

which boxing was king, his return

to the ring was all-consuming.

There might have been a limited

number of seats to witness the bout

live, but in New York, there were

17,811 folks who damn near filled

the Garden to capacity, paying

$7.50, $10 and $15 to watch a four-

sided screen showing the closed-

circuit broadcast. The Garden

cleared a cool $201,000 profit that

night. In a world before cable TV

and pay-per-view, the closed circuit

drew 14,000 to the L.A. Forum,

12,000 to Chicago Stadium, 10,000

in Miami.

In Echo Lake, Pa., in training for

an upcoming bout, the reigning

champion, Joe Frazier, decided to

go to bed at 9 o’clock, skipping the

fight, as his manager explained.

“because everyone knew Clay

would dominate the fight.”

Ali did dominate, beating Quarry

in three rounds, looking like he’d

never been away. There was much

sound and fury surrounding him,

still, for his beliefs and his actions.

But in the ring, Ali looked remarka-

bly sharp.

“I knew from the first jab,” his

trainer, Angelo Dundee said, “that I

got the same fighter again.”

Everyone else knew from Ali’s

first statement afterward that every

other aspect of his makeup was

back, too.

“I expect Frazier to be even eas-

ier,” he said.

That came in March 1971, and

there was no shortage of hype for

what remains one of the five most

ballyhooed fights in the sport’s his-

tory, and one of its fiercest. Ali

mailed-in one more bout before

then, in December, a lackluster win

against Oscar Bonavena. Frazier

was there on the other side. And

what happened from there ... well,

it’s history of the finest kind.

The path to that history began 50

years ago this week, in the most un-

likely place of all. History happens

that way sometimes.

Bob Ballen: For those of us of a

certain age, don’t we wish the TV

network would cut away from

the Jets and switch to “Heidi”?

Vac: I think at this point we’d

even settle for a remake of

“Swiss Family Robinson” in lieu

of another play-out-the-string

fourth quarter.

Tony Sansone: Does Joe Judge

have the phone numbers of Mark

Bavaro or Bob Tucker? Both right

now are better than Evan

Engram. Jerry Reese’s “gifts”

just keep on giving!

Vac: At this point, I think Giants

fans would happily engage in an

all-is-forgiven reunion with the

young Jeremy Shockey, too.

@JBFOX508: It’s the same loser

lament every season with the

Giants. The only constant is that

the GM has not gathered enough

talent across the board. The

sooner he goes the sooner they

can start a search for his

replacement and maybe John

Mara won’t mess it up this time.

@MikeVacc: It is a growing point

of curiosity what the threshold —

if there is a threshold — Dave

Gettleman needs to reach to be

invited back for 2021.

John Jay: You should never use

“Knicks” and “respectability” in

the same sentence.

Vac: Sigh. Someday, maybe.

Someday ...

EVERY SUNDAY MIKE VACCARO RESPONDS TO READERS’ QUESTIONS AT [email protected] AND @MIKEVACC ON TWITTER

Mike Vaccaro

[email protected]

OPEN MIKE

COMEBACK KID

It is with profound

sadness that I must

report that Jan

Bottone, whom I wrote

about in this space on

Sept. 12, died last

Saturday. Jan’s

affection and affinity

for the Yankees served

as her most powerful

medicine as she

battled cancer, and her

effervescence and

engagement with

many of the Post’s

writers and editors

was always a source of

light and happiness.

Condolences to her

husband, Ross Sharp,

and her daughter

Jessica.

➤Ben Reiter was the

Sports Illustrated

writer who, three

years before it

happened and while

the Astros were still in

100-loss-per-year hell,

predicted the Astros

on the magazine’s

cover as the 2017

World Series champs.

Now he has put

together what, so far,

is a magnificent six-

part podcast, “The

Edge,” which details

Houston’s rise and

precipitous fall from

grace across the past

year. Absorbing stuff.

Episode 5 drops

Wednesday.

➤I wonder if Mets

fans are destined to

look, longingly, at

Jarred Kelenic in the

same way Cardinals

fans now must look at

Randy Arozarena.

➤Can there be a

better New York sports

villain — maybe ever —

than a guy named

Boston who plays in

Philadelphia?

WORKING OFF THE RUST: Muhammad Ali delivers a hard right to Jerry Quarry on Oct. 26, 1970, in At-

lanta. The fight was Ali’s first since he was banned from the sport for refusing to serve in the U.S. military. AP