When Muhammad Ali, 'the Greatest', sensationally visited Tyneside nearly 50 years ago

During the summer of 1977, the world heavy boxing champion and arguably the most famous man on the planet at the time, Muhammad Ali, paid a sensational visit to Tyneside. A new stage play, Champion, opening this month celebrates the now-legendary episode in the region’s recent history.

For those of us who remember it and saw Ali in the flesh during his four-day stay, it probably beggars belief that nearly five decades have since passed. On Thursday, July 14, the self-styled ‘Greatest’ travelling from Chicago finally arrived in Newcastle by car, having been forced to catch a plane to Teesside from Heathrow, after missing the flight to Newcastle by 30 minutes.

Accompanying the 35-year-old champ were his wife Veronica, baby daughter, and a party of 15 aides. As the entourage headed to the Gosforth Park Hotel, their home for the next four nights, Ali told reporters in characteristic style: "Nobody would do what I'm doing by coming to Newcastle. John Wayne, Robert Redford and other film stars would want money for coming over here. I was asked to do it for nothing and I am - that's why I'm The Greatest.

Muhammad Ali was the ultimate sporting hero - universally known, and a man who almost transcended the boxing ring. He was a 20th century media phenomenon. He was loud, brash and outspoken. He was charismatic and flamboyant.

As a fighter, he had remarkable skill, speed and agility and the ability to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”. This was a three-times world champion who first won the title in 1964 by beating Sonny Liston. His brutal later fights – against George Foreman in the ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ in 1974, and Joe Frazier in the ‘Thriller in Manilla’ in 1975 – have become the stuff of boxing legend. Millions around the globe watched the titanic fights on live television, willing Ali to victory.

So how and why did the visit happen? It was to the huge surprise of a Whitburn painter and decorator called Johnny Walker, and indeed everyone else, that Ali accepted the invitation to travel from the United States to South Shields to help raise money for Walker's local boxing club.

Over the course of four days, Ali toured Tyneside on an open-topped bus as tens of thousands took to the streets to catch a glimpse of the great man. He sparred with local boys and ex-professionals, and played darts at Gypsies Green Stadium in South Shields. He visited Newcastle’s Pendower Hall Special School and Grainger Park Boys Club.

There were interview appearances at Newcastle's Mayfair Ballroom and Eldon Square Recreation Centre. Ali even tucked into a traditional North East stottie, and attended South Shields’ Al-Ahzar Mosque with his wife and daughter to have his wedding blessed by the imam. He was mobbed everywhere he went, as seen in our photo gallery.

Just days after the Queen had visited the region on her silver jubilee tour, the Chronicle reported: “Muhammad Ali continued his own royal tour of Tyneside today with visits to Newcastle and South Shields, having clowned, laughed and cuddled his way into our hearts.”

By 1977, though, Ali had already passed his once majestic peak as a boxer. In later fights against the likes of Ernie Shavers, Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick (Ali's final bout in 1981), he noticeably toiled and was on the receiving end of some punishing treatment.

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There was a long, painful decline as the former champ gradually withdrew from public life. After being laid low for many years by Parkinson’s disease, which cruelly silenced that once razor-sharp wit, the end came on June 3, 2016. The 74-year-old was reported to be suffering from a respiratory illness when he died in hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the end of a remarkable era.

Today, nearly 50 years after the event, the memory of Muhammad Ali’s visit to Tyneside is still vivid for many.

Champion, by Ishy Din, runs from Thursday, February 13 to Saturday, March 8 at the Live Theatre, Broad Chare, Newcastle. NE31 3DQ. Box Office: telephone (0191) 2321232.