Clay shooting
Ali riding his bicycle with local kids in the streets of Louisville, Kentucky
In the early 1960s Steve Schapiro was carving out a career for himself as a photojournalist when he got an assignment from Sports Illustrated magazine to shoot a 21-year-old boxing phenomenon, who was then simply known by his birth name Cassius Clay. Schapiro recalls, ‘He was living at his parents’ house [in Louisville, Kentucky] so they sent me there to photograph him. That’s how I started photographing Muhammad Ali.’
The assignment was a five-day shoot, during which Schapiro hung out with Clay in Louisville and also accompanied the rising star on a road trip to New York City. All of this is showcased in the new book Ali, which includes intimate images of ‘The Greatest’ at home and on the road, as well as a unique image of Ali with one of his future wives.
Of the shoot Schapiro remembers, ‘It
