Before he was a firebrand for civil rights, before he galvanized debate about segregation, Islam and the Vietnam War, before he was known as Muhammad Ali, a young boxer named Cassius Clay astounded even casual observers of boxing with his athletic …
Since its inception in the 1920's the commissioner's chair has been occupied by prominent men from all walks of life: James Farley a United States postmaster general and FDR confidant; Eddie Eagan a Rhodes scholar and Olympic boxing champion; Robert Christenberry the onetime head of the Astor Hotel; Julius Helfand a successful lawyer who took on the mob in boxing; Edwin Dooley the former pol…