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According to ABC News

One of the great athletes of our time. Its sad to see what it did to him in his later years. Hope he's at peace.

Also being reported by ESPN:
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/15939933/muhammad-ali-dies-74

Damn.

The Greatest of All Time.[DOUBLEPOST=1465015496,1465015039][/DOUBLEPOST]
(For Nick)

Huh. It never occurred to me that he was alive, I always read about him in the past tense.

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given, than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

He was very much alive, but the Parkinsons had taken its toll on him. He did very little in the way of public appearances in like the last decade or so, since the '96 Olympics. His voice was pretty much gone, and the shaking was probably horrible by the time he passed away.

Parkinsons is one of those three diseases that really suck. Alzheimer's and cancer are the other two - though Cancer is #1 with a bullet.

Ok, 2016 is just getting silly now.

Rest in peace, Muhammad Ali. Few could truly claim to be the best ever at their sport, but you hold that distinction in boxing without any doubt.

Rest in power.

I watched all of his fights as I was growing up (back when poor people were allowed to watch prize fights.) It was just too bad, because at that time he was already on the decline. Because it was after his forced exile from the sport during his best years because of the refusal to join the draft. And he was still the best.

I cried like a baby when he lit the Olympic cauldron.

He was someone I really wanted to include in my top ten, but I just am not Sports enough for this to impact me on a really deep level. He was quite literally an icon and deserves the respect.

sixpackshaker said:

I cried like a baby when he lit the Olympic cauldron.

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You and half the world.

--Patrick

It's such a shame, but given his poor health for the last decade+, I was always afraid this would come much sooner. I usually don't enjoy fighting, but I can appreciate what a monumental figure he was, both in the sport and in culture.

Man I usually have no reaction to celebrity deaths, but this man was more than a celebrity and more than an athlete.

I was too young to watch him fight, but I always thought this is one of the best sports photos I've ever seen.

blotsfan said:

I was too young to watch him fight, but I always thought this is one of the best sports photos I've ever seen.

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That same photo today would only have 3-4 photographers and all the other seats would be filled by "celebs" of varying degree.

And that is because of him.

Goodbye.

One of the few truly greats. R.I.P.

No, he is The Greatest.

Sparhawk said:

That same photo today would only have 3-4 photographers and all the other seats would be filled by "celebs" of varying degree.

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that's because every celeb is holding a more powerful supercomputer and camera than existed in the 1960s. I don't even know what you're trying to say. Boxing had WAY more celebrity attraction back in Ali's day than today. One of the stories I heard on ESPN last night was how Frank Sinatra was a ringside photographer during one fight since it was the only way he could get in. FRANK SINATRA.

Ruth made sports a popular thing.
Gretzky made hockey "hot" in LA.
Jordan turned basketball into a money-making proposition.

But Ali... Ali changed the world.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

that's because every celeb is holding a more powerful supercomputer and camera than existed in the 1960s. I don't even know what you're trying to say. Boxing had WAY more celebrity attraction back in Ali's day than today. One of the stories I heard on ESPN last night was how Frank Sinatra was a ringside photographer during one fight since it was the only way he could get in. FRANK SINATRA.

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I was too young to remember, and my dad is too long gone to ask, but Ali-Frazier I was Super Bowl level big, if not bigger.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

that's because every celeb is holding a more powerful supercomputer and camera than existed in the 1960s. I don't even know what you're trying to say. Boxing had WAY more celebrity attraction back in Ali's day than today. One of the stories I heard on ESPN last night was how Frank Sinatra was a ringside photographer during one fight since it was the only way he could get in. FRANK SINATRA.

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I'm saying they've pushed the media back to sell all those seats to people, instead of having the press being the closest to the ring. To me, the visual of the press being the people closest to the "action" is telling in the fact that it's gone from that photo with the boxers, referee, ring crew and reporters, to if a similar photo were done today, you'd have the boxers, referee, ring crew and "celebs." It shows how much he changed the way that venues sold seats, and really in comparison, how far that boxing has fallen since then.

And yes, overall, I'm being dismissive of the status of some that are called celebrities.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

that's because every celeb is holding a more powerful supercomputer and camera than existed in the 1960s. I don't even know what you're trying to say. Boxing had WAY more celebrity attraction back in Ali's day than today. One of the stories I heard on ESPN last night was how Frank Sinatra was a ringside photographer during one fight since it was the only way he could get in. FRANK SINATRA.

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Before Don King destroyed Heavyweight boxing and turned it into the sleazy show it is today...

Last photo-shoot. Haunting and brilliant.

SpecialKO said:

Last photo-shoot. Haunting and brilliant.

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There is no proper rating for this.
That guy sure knows how to take pictures, though.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

There is no proper rating for this.
That guy sure knows how to take pictures, though.

--Patrick

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If anyone is looking for a good source on how to take photos like this (off-topic, I know), The Strobist is a good source. In fact, he covers exactly this style in the Lighting 102 series.

My brother when he got to photograph the greatest.