What Happened to Cassius Clay Sr? The Father of Muhammad Ali

By profession, Cassius Clay Sr. was a painter and a musician. His son Muhammad Ali, who became a three-time World Heavyweight Champion in professional boxing, is known to have taken immense pride in Cassius Clay Sr’s way of dancing. In fact, as far as the word goes, ‘The Greatest’ even declared his father to be the fanciest dancer in Louisville. Most probably, apart from hardcore training, Muhammad Ali received his unique footwork through his father in heredity.

Dance, music, and various other forms of art surrounded Cassius Clay Sr. during his life. He was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky on November 11, 1912, and died on February 8, 1990. While he painted billboards and signs to earn his bread and money, he often played the piano as his pastime to find relief. It is known that Cassius Clay Sr. was named after Cassius Marcellus Clay, a figure that diligently supported the abolition of slavery.

In the year 1930, Cassius Clay Sr. married Odessa Grady Clay. While Clay Sr. painted, Odessa Grady Clay worked as a domestic helper to support her family. Among other things, Clay Sr. pursued women amorously and drank heavily, earning himself the title of “hard-drinking, skirt-chasing dandy of a daddy”. Despite his supportive family, Clay Sr. could not free himself from drinking.

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The father of Muhammad Ali died of a heart attack

At the age of 70, in 1990, Cassius Clay Sr. passed away due to a heart attack on his way to leave a department store he was visiting. Other than Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay Sr. fathered Rahaman Ali. By the time Clay Sr. died, Muhammad Ali no longer boxed professionally in the ring. In fact, Ali ended his boxing career 8 years before his father breathed his last with his family.

Muhammad Ali belonged to a working-class family. His parents taught him the value of a life full of honesty and dignity. In 1970, on being asked about his son becoming a Muslim, Clay Sr. expressed that his religion was his talent, the only thing that ever supported him.

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