The day Muhammad Ali etched his name in Everton folklore

Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest boxers to ever walk the planet.

The American-born athlete was crowned heavyweight champion on three occasions and was an inspiration to millions around the world.

It wasn’t just his unparalleled skills in the ring that made him so loved, but also his public speaking which promoted world peace.

Ali’s charisma and personality transcended sport and made him a global icon, with few coming close to his level of fame.

So when he attended an Everton match in 1966, it was a truly historic day that has since gone down in club folklore.

The day Muhammad Ali became an Everton fan

Ahead of the 1966 FA Cup final between Everton and Sheffield Wednesday, Toffees fans had a very unexpected encounter with Muhammad Ali in Hyde Park.

“We got the midnight coach down from the city centre after a few beers in the Big House,” Eddie Dutton from Birkdale told the Liverpool Echo.

“And we were all doing the hokey cokey down Lime Street, as you do, before boarding the coach! We got to London on Saturday morning and were wandering around, having a few beers, when word went round that Ali was in Hyde Park.

“We shot down there and even now, the hairs stand up on the back of my hands thinking about it.

“He seemed to be bigger and taller than anyone else in the park – bigger even than his bouncers – he just stood out. And it was true what he used to say. There wasn’t one mark on his face. He was like a movie star.”

Eddie and many other fans discovered that he was, in fact, attending the cup final, as David Hemming, of Bootle, explained his memory of the infamous day.

Ali walked down Wembley Way with Everton fans

Hemming has a vivid recollection of seeing Ali strut down Wembley Way with a number of Everton supporters.

“I can still see Ali now walking down Wembley Way,” he said. “He wore a white sharkskin suit and had an incredible aura about him.

“Mind you there were still plenty of Blues fans moaning that he’d got a ticket for the match when so many Evertonians hadn’t.

“That didn’t stop loads getting in, though. The lengths some fans went to, to bunk in was incredible.”

Ali watched Harry Catterick’s Everton side beat Wednesday 3-2, with Mike Trebilcock netting twice and Derek Temple on the scoresheet, too.