Muhammad Ali and the draft

Former Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown presides over a meeting of top African American athletes in 1967.

Former Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown presides over a meeting of top African American athletes on June 4, 1967, to show support for boxer Muhammad Ali’s refusal to fight in Vietnam. Those present are: front row, from left, Bill Russell, Ali, Brown, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; back row: Carl Stokes, Walter Beach, Bobby Mitchell, Sid Williams, Curtis McClinton, Willie Davis, Jim Shorter and John Wooten.

(Tony Tomsic / Getty Images)

April 28, 2016 8:25 AM PT

The letter written and sent by Muhammad Ali to the Selective Service Board stating that he was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. Note that Ali signed both his Islamic name and his birth name.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali surrounds himself with kids and talks to the media after being informed his draft board reclassified him as able to serve.

(Toby Massey / AP)

Muhammad Ali ponders a question during a news conference discussing his refusal to fight in Vietnam.

(Ed Kolenovosky / AP)

Muhammad Ali waits for the elevator to take them up to Ali’s trial on a federal indictment which charges him with refusing to be inducted into the armed services.

(Ed Kolenovsky / AP)

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Muhammad Ali and the draft

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