The Lively Morgue Posts Vintage Photo of Muhammed Ali Pre-Fight Press Conference at NYC City Hall, 1976

Sept. 13, 1976: Feathers ruffled, chests puffed out, Muhammad Ali, left, and Ken Norton, right, talked tough for the benefit of the media on the steps of City Hall (photo Page 47 of this paper). Fortunately, Mayor Beame was on hand to keep the peace. The peace ended, according to schedule, on Sept. 28 when Ali beat Norton and retained the world heavyweight championship, though not without controversy. “I thought I won it,” Norton said later. “Ali knew I won it. The people knew I won it.”
Sept. 13, 1976: Feathers ruffled, chests puffed out, Muhammad Ali, left, and Ken Norton, right, talked tough for the benefit of the media on the steps of City Hall (photo Page 47 of this paper). Fortunately, Mayor Beame was on hand to keep the peace. The peace ended, according to schedule, on Sept. 28 when Ali beat Norton and retained the world heavyweight championship, though not without controversy. “I thought I won it,” Norton said later. “Ali knew I won it. The people knew I won it.”
(photo back)
(photo back)

The Lively Morgue is a daily photo blog from the New York Times in which an original photo from the newspaper's archives is reposted along with tidbits of information gleaned from the historical article it accompanied. Along with a rescan of the original photograph, the backs of each photo are also scanned, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the editorial process of one of the world's best newspapers.

Today's post shows a photograph of famous boxers Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton in a pre-fight press conference on the steps of City Hall with Mayor Abraham Beame keeping things civil.

Sept. 13, 1976: Feathers ruffled, chests puffed out, Muhammad Ali, left, and Ken Norton, right, talked tough for the benefit of the media on the steps of City Hall (photo Page 47 of this paper). Fortunately, Mayor Beame was on hand to keep the peace. The peace ended, according to schedule, on Sept. 28 when Ali beat Norton and retained the world heavyweight championship, though not without controversy. “I thought I won it,” Norton said later. “Ali knew I won it. The people knew I won it.”

The original article has more.

Matt Coneybeare

Matt Coneybeare

Editor in Chief

Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.

Something wrong with this post? Let us know!

Brought To You By…