It was a stroke of luck—bad luck—that got Muhammad Ali into the ring for the first time. The Louisville, Kentucky, native was 12 years old when his brand-new bicycle was stolen. The police officer to whom Ali reported the theft happened to own a boxing gym—and became his first coach.
Ten years later, in 1964, Ali, then still known by his birth name, Cassius Clay, became the world heavyweight champion when he defeated reigning titleholder Sonny Liston. The athlete, who earned the nickname “The Greatest,” would go on to win that title two more times, as well as an Olympic gold medal and numerous honors for his civil rights activism and humanitarian work.
There was, of course, another side to the legend: his domestic life. As we gear up for the release of the Prime Video series The Greatest, which explores the prizefighter’s rise to prominence, we’re looking back at photos of Ali in his off-duty hours.
Ali in his Chicago home.
Life in Chicago
Days after becoming the heavyweight champion, Ali announced his conversion to the Nation of Islam, changed his name, and then relocated to Chicago, where the controversial religion’s headquarters are based. (He later converted to Sunni Islam). In 1967, Ali cited his religious beliefs when he refused to serve in the US Army during the Vietnam War. His boxing license revoked and his championship title stripped, Ali entered a period of exile. He is pictured in his Chicago home the following year, reading a book by Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. The athlete shared the dwelling with his second wife, Khalilah Camacho-Ali, whom he married at the residence on August 17, 1967. The single-story brick house was in the Avalon Park neighborhood and was a fully furnished gift from the Nation of Islam.
The boxer and his toddler Maryum feeding 10-week-old twins Rasheda and Jamillah in their Philadelphia home.
Growing family
The couple welcomed a daughter, Maryum, in 1968, and two years later, twins named Rasheda and Jamillah. The newborns are pictured between Ali and Maryum at home in Pennsylvania in this November 1970 photograph. The fighter and his family stayed at the home, in West Philadelphia’s Overbrook Park neighborhood, for about a year. It was later owned by Kobe Bryant’s grandparents.
Ali with fans at his Pennsylvania training camp in August 1974.
Fighter’s Heaven
Though he soon relocated to New Jersey, Ali would maintain ties to Pennsylvania for decades with his training camp, Fighter’s Heaven. He purchased the Deer Lake property in 1972, the year after the Supreme Court overturned his draft-evasion conviction, allowing him to regain his boxing license. On the land, he custom-built a log gym, a dining hall, several cabins, a mosque, and a courtyard with a large stone fireplace. His training sessions were open to the public; in this August 1974 photo, a group of fans are pictured behind him at the camp. He kept the retreat long after his retirement, selling it in 1997 to martial arts instructor George Dillman. The property is now a tourist destination, complete with a small museum.
Ali at home in Los Angeles before his fight with Larry Holmes.
Back in the ring
Ali briefly retired from boxing at age 37 in 1979, but returned the following year to fight Larry Holmes. The boxer poses at his home office in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, in this August 1980 photo, taken about a month before his fight with Holmes.
Ali shoots pool in his Hancock Park house in this 1980 photo.
End of the game
Ali shows off the game room in his Hancock Park, Los Angeles, home in this 1980 snapshot. Around this period, he started to show early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, which impacted his athletic ability. He lost the fight to Holmes and went back into retirement.
The boxing champion and his wife Veronica at home in 1982.
The end of an era
In 1981, Ali fought one last time before hanging up his gloves. “I know it’s the end,” he said after losing the fight. “I’m not crazy. After Holmes, I had excuses. I was too light. Didn’t breathe right. No excuses this time. I’m happy. I’m still pretty. I could have a black eye. Broken teeth. Split lips. I think I came out all right for an old man.” Ali stands next to his third wife, Veronica Porché, in front of his Hancock Park dwelling in this photo, taken a few months after his final match.
The Greatest takes a call at home in 1982.
Retired in style
In this photo from the same March 1982 photo shoot, Ali strikes a pose in his opulent Los Angeles living room. The retired boxer had purchased the 14,500-square-foot home in 1979, two years after marrying Porché. The 1916 build, by architect John C. Austin, was an Italian Renaissance mansion complete with seven bedrooms.
Ali eats cereal at home in 1985.
Table for one
The estate featured stained glass window panels designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (the son of Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Lewis Tiffany) and a stately dining room with intricately carved dark wood and a crystal chandelier, as seen in this October 1985 photo of Ali eating cereal. That year, he and Porché filed for divorce.
The Greatest with some of his trophies.
The Greatest’s trophy room
Ali outfitted the home with a (packed) trophy room, which he shows off in this 1985 picture. He left the Hancock Park dwelling the following year, when his and Porché’s divorce was finalized. Shortly after, Ali married his fourth wife, Lonnie Williams. As his Parkinson’s disease progressed (he was officially diagnosed in 1984), Williams became Ali’s primary caregiver.
The former fighter has his picture taken by photographer Neil Leifer at home in Arizona’s Paradise Valley.
Final years
Ali poses for a photo shoot commemorating his 70th birthday in 2012 at the Arizona home he and Williams shared. That year, he was honored with the Liberty Medal for his humanitarian efforts, which he devoted more time to following his retirement. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. Ali died in Arizona in 2016 at 74.
