Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Louisville for organizing this Special Order this evening. I can't think of an athlete who more impacted my life and certainly the lives of people in our generation. The gentleman from Louisville started in 1960--or maybe it started when you were 16--but watching then-Cassius Marcellus Clay in the 1960 Olympics in Rome--a legendary Olympics that produced so many highlights of American athleticism, from Bob Hayes to Rafer Johnson and, of course, this young, boyish-looking, but eloquent and masterful heavy- weight that moved like nothing else I had ever seen or would ever see since. My father worked three jobs. About the only time he was home on a Friday night, we would watch the Gillette Sports Hour, which was the boxing matches that would occur. My dad loved to follow boxing. He was a big Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano fan. Of course, my dad's generation, when Cassius Marcellus Clay came along, were not happy with his poetry and braggadocio manner. As a kid, we thought it was the coolest thing. And I would always remind my dad that he never made a boast that his fists couldn't back up. And the poetry. He was ahead of his time in terms of rap, but he also was ahead of his time in terms of what he brought to the sport. As the distinguished gentleman from Louisville pointed out, when he stepped into the ring with Sonny Liston, we all feared for his life. But as it turned out, he had that speed and that endurance and his incredible skills.…”