The Role Of Sports In The 1960's

Sports in the 1960’s Professional athletes are celebrities in today’s world. The superstars of their sport get paid millions of dollars every year. They are also role models for many young people that wish to play the same sport. But it wasn’t always that way; however, sports have always been affected by the culture of that time. In the 1960’s sports have been affected by war, racism, and politics.
The Vietnam War and political assassinations of the 1960’s were paramount. A shocking event that occurred during this time period was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He was a civil rights leader for the African Americans and helped the integration process. On the day of his assassination, he was planning to march in protest for African
Muhammad Ali, once known as Cassius Clay Jr, was the face of professional boxing during the 1960’s. As an amateur, Ali “won a gold medal at the age of eighteen at the 1960 Olympics in Rome” (Hauser). After the Olympics, Ali turned pro; he then challenged the champion at the time, Sonny Liston, for the heavyweight title. Before fights Ali would write poems about what he was going to do to his opponent. On one of his poems he wrote “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” This became a very popular quote. before the fight. On February 25 in Florida Ali beat Liston in the 7th round to become the heavy champion and declared himself “the greatest.” But he would lose to Leon Spinks four years later; he fought him again 7 months later to become the champion once more and the first boxer to win the title 3 times (Hauser). Another popular athlete during the decade was Willie Mays, who was a professional baseball player. He played over twenty seasons in the MLB, and hitting over .300 his whole career. He won the rookie of the year when first became pro, was a twenty time all-star, won two MVPs, and some people say he’s the best ever. Willie Mays made one of the greatest catches in baseball history. In game one of the world series the score was tied 2-2 when Cleveland Indians batter Vic Wertz stepped up to the plate. Mays played center field and was playing shallow, Wertz hit what would have been a home run if it weren’t for Willie. Willie turned and sprinted back, he made the catch over his back and saved the game. Willie Mays is still a icon for many baseball players today (“Willie Mays”). In the National Basketball Association. The Boston Celtics were ruling the court in the NBA. They had hall of fame players that played as a team and a great hall of fame coach. One of the great players was Bill Russell. He won eleven championships during his career and has