When Muhammad Ali first appeared on the cover of TIME in 1963, he was still Cassius Clay. Although he had won an Olympic gold medal, there were few signs he would become, in many ways, a bigger legend outside of the ring. He was the subject of three more covers over the next four decades. Here is an excerpt from that 1963 cover story:
Dreams came easy in Louisville's West End. "Why can't I be rich?" Cassius once asked his father. His father touched him on one pecan-colored hand and said, "Look there. That's why you can't be rich." But at 12, Cassius got his "wheel." It was a shiny $60 bicycle, and he proudly pedaled off to a fair at the Columbia Gym downtown. When the show was over,…
