It made for a nice picture, but a less-than-nice story.
Here’s an excerpt from Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World describing the meeting:
Cassius Clay and The Beatles climbed into the ring and, as if they just hadn’t met each other, they went through what seemed like a total choreographed routine. There are wonderful photographs of this, in which he pretends to hit the first Beatle and they all fall down like dominoes and scamper about the ring. Then they go off to their history and he goes off to his. Then, a few minutes later, he called me over and said, “So who were those little [anti-gay slur beginning with “f”]?”
...and by that, I mean, being completely ignorant of the larger world outside the U.S.…
Wednesday, August 7, 1991: A sunny day at Toronto’s CNE Grandstand, and what a lineup:…
The cover painting says it all.
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What year was this picture taken?
So who was that nigger?
What's that you said now, Cassius? Cat got your tongue?
@ the beatles
This was from a time when the word "faggot" meant "man from Liverpool." you idiot.
Maybe he was joking? I don't wanna sound like a queer or nothing but I think the Beatles were pretty famous...
Who am I? I was the guy that knocked yo head off honkey! Now go back to banging drums with yer butt buddies, Ringo - you not gay, but your drumming now certainly is!
I don't remember who I am :(
Was this photo taken at Ali's Camp in Deer lake Pennsylvania?
This was on Feb 18th 1964 and NOBODY really knew who they were. They had just arrived in the United States. This was right at the beginning of Beatlemania.
Men didn't have long hair then . It was 1964 . Trust me it was the hair . No one could believe at that time that a man would have hair like that . After the Beatles came then men began wearing their hair long again . The older generation called them " commie pinko faggots" . I was 14 then and soon I too was growing my hair longer... "pinko commie fag" . I heard that a million times