# Mohammed Ali visits Tulse Hill Comp in 1972!



## durruti02 (Mar 8, 2009)

amazing pics 

http://www.peterarkellphotos.co.uk/others/ali/index.htm 

 i wonder who that lucky kid was and is now??? 

can anyone copy the photos up onto here? i never manage to do it  ta

sorry didn'lt check typing before i posted .. obviously meant to be Mohammed .. could a mod change it please ?? ta

eta thanks mod


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## Diamond (Mar 8, 2009)

That's brilliant.


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## FridgeMagnet (Mar 8, 2009)

Blimey, what was he doing there? Seems a bit of a random place to visit....


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## blossie33 (Mar 9, 2009)

I can remember him coming to open a new Community/ Sports Centre in Hockley, Birmingham which they had named after him, possibly around the same time so I think he did get around in those days.

Sadly it was derelict for many years following a fire - not sure if it's still standing?


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## tarannau (Mar 9, 2009)

He did better that Tyson then, who got scared by the local crowds and had to run to Brixton cop shop for safety, waving out of the window like a lisping wus.


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## durruti02 (Mar 9, 2009)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Blimey, what was he doing there? Seems a bit of a random place to visit....


 he came kinda regular to the brixton area i seem to remember .. once i almost went down i think .. Ali gets as close as being a  'hero' for me who doesn't have heros!


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## lang rabbie (Mar 9, 2009)

durruti02 said:


> i wonder who that lucky kid was and is now???



Tony Sibbliers was reputedly his name - then aged 17.

http://www.tulsehillschool.co.uk/ali.htm


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## Mrs Magpie (Mar 9, 2009)

You are the business, lang rabbie...as they say in France, "Chapeau!"


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## durruti02 (Mar 9, 2009)

lang rabbie said:


> Tony Sibbliers was reputedly his name - then aged 17.
> 
> http://www.tulsehillschool.co.uk/ali.htm


  brilliant

 'he didn't hurt me none!"


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## JimW (Mar 9, 2009)

durruti02 said:


> brilliant
> 
> 'he didn't hurt me none!"



I could have had him - hold me back lads 

E2A: Doh, should have read the story first; thought it was the young lad saying it


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## ska invita (Jan 17, 2012)

70th BIRTHDAY BUMP!
Paul Stephenson OBE, the first black Freeman of the City of Bristol and civil rights campaigner recalls the time Muhammad Ali came to visit 

In 1974 John Fraser, MP for Lambeth and Norwood, invited me to join the board of governors for Tulse Hill School, a large multiracial comprehensive boys’ school in Brixton. The school was famous for educating Ken Livingston, Mayor of London, and the Jamaican poet Linton Kwesi Johnson.

At that time in the early 1970s, I noticed that large sections of the staff had low opinions of the black children in terms of their academic performance. More than 50% of its 1,300 students were black and the boys found it difficult to identify with the white teachers. The school was in a bit of turmoil and I felt the children needed positive black role models. At that point, in 1974, Muhammad Ali paid a visit to London.

Ali was on his way back to Chicago from Zaire after his ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight with George Foreman. I jokingly said I’d try and bring him to the school and I went to the Hilton Hotel where he was staying.

I saw him in the foyer. I said, ‘Muhammad Ali, it’s great to see you. Congratulations on your win.’ Then I asked, ‘I wonder if you’d like to come down to our school and see my pupils?’ He replied with a question, ‘Go down to your school?’

‘Yes’, I said, ‘they’d love to see you.’

By the look on his face I’d say he was interested, but he hesitated. ‘Well, I’m a busy man. I gotta go to Chicago.’

I said ‘I know, but just a few hours would be great if you could.’

We continued to chat and he wanted to know how much I’d pay him. I looked him straight in the eye and said: ‘Muhammad, I haven’t got a dollar.’ He responded ‘Not even a dime? You have more nerve than Frazier.’

He agreed to come and asked that the press weren’t told in advance so that his visit didn’t turn into a media circus.

On the day, 1,300 boys were wondering why on earth they had been called to assembly. We had managed to get Muhammad into the headmaster’s study without being seen.

The head got the boys hushed. I said I wanted them to greet a young man returning from Africa to Chicago in the United States, and to give him a big warm hand. The hall was quiet, so I said: ‘Give a big hand to Muhammad Ali!’

Everyone stayed silent. Ali looked at me and I looked at him and then he walked out onto stage. When the children recognised him the hall erupted into wild thunderous applause, cat calls, noisy screams and cheers of amazement. They brought the roof down!

They knew him as Cassius Clay, not Muhammad Ali.

Ali told me he’d accepted my invitation in part because I’d addressed him as Muhammad Ali, when a lot of people were still calling him Cassius Clay. And so it was that he rewarded the school and me with a visit that was to have long-reaching effects.

On stage he said ‘I’ve got a poem for you, Mr Stephenson.’

I like your school Mr Stephenson
 I admire your style
 but your pay is so cheap
 I won’t be back for a while 

The boys loved him and he invited one of them to spar. Some children asked my wife Joyce for her autograph thinking she was Ali’s wife. The visit was a tremendous success. To this very day I am recognised by ex-pupils who remember it.

This is an extract from Paul Stephenson OBE: Memoirs of a Black Englishman which will be published by Tangent Books later this year (www.tangentbooks.co.uk)

http://www.brbooks.co.uk/2010/09/10/sons-of-brixton/#more-406


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## Structaural (Jan 17, 2012)

Wow, I missed this thread first time round, great find.

Did that school turn into Tulse Hill Boys?


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## Mrs Magpie (Jan 17, 2012)

tarannau said:


> He did better that Tyson then, who got scared by the local crowds and had to run to Brixton cop shop for safety, waving out of the window like a lisping wus.


That actually changed policy at Brixton Police Station. The Panel of Lay Visitors had been saying for ages that they needed to formulate a proper policy in case of death (not necessarily in custody) in the Police Station and after that Tyson thing we asked what would they have done regarding crowds, press etc if Tyson had dropped dead of a heart attack while in there.....they blanched at the thought and put a proper procedure in place for such an event happening.


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## ska invita (Jan 17, 2012)

Structaural said:


> Wow, I missed this thread first time round, great find.
> 
> Did that school turn into Tulse Hill Boys?


It closed in 1990 says WikiP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulse_Hill_School


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## Fedayn (Jan 17, 2012)

In 1993 he came to Glasgow and did a book signing at Waterstones in the city centre. mate of mines worked there at the time and got to meet him.... Took him a while to come down off the ceiling I think.


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## blossie33 (Jan 18, 2012)

Great story and very fitting the thread should be bumped on his 70th birthday.
He's a legend - happy birthday Mr Ali!!


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## Detroit City (Jan 18, 2012)

durruti02 said:


> amazing pics
> 
> http://www.peterarkellphotos.co.uk/others/ali/index.htm
> 
> ...


he was in my dad's house for a fund raiser about 20 yrs ago


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## past caring (Jan 18, 2012)

Girlfriend's best mate worked for Jubilee 2000 and was actually in charge of organising Ali's visit in 1999 and chaperoning him. I didn't ask whether she could sort something out for me to get a chance to shake hands or anything 'cos I thought it was a bit too much of a liberty - so the girlfriend asked her for me ang got it sorted out.  Rare that you get to meet a proper hero - and it was everything I hoped it would be, though I was lost for words. Something I'll always cherish.


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## krtek a houby (Jan 18, 2012)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-16595795


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## Structaural (Jan 18, 2012)

ska invita said:


> It closed in 1990 says WikiP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulse_Hill_School


 
Cheers, thought so, before my time. I went to the school down the road, also no longer there.

What a Legend.


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## Numbers (Jan 18, 2012)

I remember this thread from the 1st time  so nice bump ska.

I've been lucky to meet the man twice and shake his hand twice   but gutted I never got a photo with him.

One of my most cherished possessions is an original fight poster from the Rumble in the Jungle with his signature on it.  It takes pride of place in my memorabilia collection.


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## Brixton Hatter (Jan 18, 2012)

ska invita said:


> 70th BIRTHDAY BUMP!
> Paul Stephenson OBE, the first black Freeman of the City of Bristol and civil rights campaigner recalls the time Muhammad Ali came to visit...


What a brilliant story. Cheers.

I love this:




			
				Mohammed Ali said:
			
		

> I like your school Mr Stephenson
> I admire your style
> but your pay is so cheap
> I won’t be back for a while


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## ska invita (Jan 18, 2012)

Numbers said:


> I remember this thread from the 1st time  so nice bump ska.
> 
> I've been lucky to meet the man twice and shake his hand twice  but gutted I never got a photo with him.
> 
> One of my most cherished possessions is an original fight poster from the Rumble in the Jungle with his signature on it. It takes pride of place in my memorabilia collection.


Which poster is it Numbers? Is it one of these:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?clie...g&biw=1333&bih=668&sei=K0QXT6GGEYqZ8gOZ9_nOAg


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## Structaural (Jan 18, 2012)




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## Numbers (Jan 19, 2012)

ska invita said:


> Which poster is it Numbers? Is it one of these:
> http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=ali Rumble in the Jungle poster&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=KUQXT7D6BNCi8gPn_pDbAg&biw=1333&bih=668&sei=K0QXT6GGEYqZ8gOZ9_nOAg


This one ska, the French version.  Me Da used to be a sailor and in 74 was in Port Gentil and picked it up, he then got it signed at the Richard Dunn fight in Germany in 76 - as I say, a very cherished item indeed.


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## starfish (Jan 20, 2012)

Had this hanging about the place for years. Was never sure if its a genuine or not.


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## Maggot (Jan 21, 2012)

Love this story, but the thread title says it was 1972 and Ska invita's post says it was 1974.


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## ska invita (Jan 21, 2012)

starfish said:


> Had this hanging about the place for years. Was never sure if its a genuine or not.



The fact it says Full Report looks like its a blow up of a souvenir pamphlet or something.

I guess the only way to work out the year for certain would be to cross reference with other visits to the UK, but Paul Stephenson says: "Ali was on his way back to Chicago from Zaire after his ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight with George Foreman. " which would make it 74.


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## Steve Silvester (Oct 25, 2012)

ska invita said:


> The fact it says Full Report looks like its a blow up of a souvenir pamphlet or something.
> 
> I guess the only way to work out the year for certain would be to cross reference with other visits to the UK, but Paul Stephenson says: "Ali was on his way back to Chicago from Zaire after his ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight with George Foreman. " which would make it 74.


 I was at Tulse Hill on a teaching practice when Ali visited. Like the boys, I had no idea what was going on when the whole school was called into the hall and was amazed when he walked onto the stage. Before sparring with the boy (who I remember must have been about 6'5") he took an impromtu question and answer session - two answers I still remember: "Who's the best fighter you have ever been up against?" "My first wife", and "How many times have you been knocked out?" "Do you know who I am??..."
The teaching practice was about the last two weeks of January 1975, but it may have been when I was on a preliminary visit at the end of '74 - I'll try to dig out my old diaries from the loft ad get an exact date.


ska invita said:


> The fact it says Full Report looks like its a blow up of a souvenir pamphlet or something.
> 
> I guess the only way to work out the year for certain would be to cross reference with other visits to the UK, but Paul Stephenson says: "Ali was on his way back to Chicago from Zaire after his ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight with George Foreman. " which would make it 74.


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## GarveyLives (Nov 30, 2022)

Maggot said:


> Love this story, but the thread title says it was 1972 and Ska invita's post says it was 1974.



3 December 1974.


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