08/20/2024
The original Cassius Clay, also from Kentucky.
Cassius Clay was an absolute badass. Like, on some surreal John Wick level. In 1843, Clay was addressing his constituents in Kentucky, standing at an embankment. An assassin ran up from within the crowd and fired at him, hitting him in the chest.
Clay beat the man with his silver-tipped cane, then wrestled him into submission. Holding him down with one hand, he took his Bowie knife, cutting off the gunman’s nose and ear. Then lifted the man off the ground, throwing him off the embankment…
He did all that with a bullet lodged in his chest. Cassius Clay lived to 92 with that bullet still in him. One of the world’s greatest fighters was named after him… and then decided “Muhammad Ali” was a more badass name. I disagree — they don’t make ’em any more hardcore than the original Cassius Clay.
