Bryce Harper is arguably the best young player in Major League Baseball, and on Friday, he paid tribute to the Greatest of All Time, Muhammad Ali.
On Friday, Muhammad Ali’s funeral captivated the nation. Thousands of people descended on Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, paying their final respects to the man who is dubbed the “Greatest of All Time”. Between the eulogies by former President Bill Clinton, actor/comedian Billy Crystal, and his wife Lonnie to name a few, the impact of Ali’s life was on full display Friday.
Muhammad Ali was a man who was beloved by millions, including current Washington Nationals superstar outfielder Bryce Harper. The man many consider the best player in the Major Leagues, Harper paid homage to the greatest boxer of all time, honoring Ali with a bat sticker that read, “Rumble Young Man Rumble”.
The quote comes from his last fight as Cassius Clay, when on February 25, 1964, he took his 19-0 record into the ring against current champion Sonny Liston. Before the fight, Ali uttered, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Rumble, young man, rumble.” Clay beat Liston when Liston refused to come out for the seventh round, becoming the first Heavyweight Champion since 1919 to lose a fight by refusing to get off his stool.
Two days later, Clay would announce that he was a member of Islam, before changing his name to Muhammad X. In March, Elijah Muhammad would announce that the boxer would now be named Muhammad Ali. Muhammad means “worthy of all praises”, and Ali means “most high”.
Over 50 years later, Ali continues to influence the world of sports, as displayed by Harper on Friday night.
This is not the first time Harper has used his bat sticker to send a message. His new personal motto is “Make Baseball Fun Again,” and he created bat stickers that read “MBFA 2016.” Harper has been more than outspoken about his displeasure with the way the game is played today.
“Baseball’s tired,” Harper said in an ESPN The Magazine cover story published in March of this year. “It’s a tired sport because you can’t express yourself.”
It looks as if Harper is going to be a young superstar who does not mind speaking his mind. Kind of like the man he honored on Friday night.
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