A Friendship Etched in Stone: Muhammad Ali and Tunney Hunsaker Part II
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, fought his first professional bout in Louisville, Kentucky, winning a six-round decision over Sheriff Tunney Hunsaker. Ali would go on to become the three-time heavyweight champion of the world. Hunsaker served as the Chief of Police of Fayetteville for 38 years. Tunney Hunsaker, named after former heavyweight champion of the world Gene Tunney, began boxing as an amateur at county fair competitions. At 24, he became the youngest police chief in West Virginia history in 1954.
According to Hunsaker’s daughter Sally Huffman, “I remember my dad fought a man called Shotgun Shelton in 1963. Shelton hit my dad in his head and injured his brain. Dad died on the (operating) table, but they brought him back. That’s the fight that made the biggest difference in my life. The thing my dad was most proud of, even more than his boxing career, was his faith. He died on the table, and said he met Jesus. His life dramatically changed. He never missed a Sunday in (teaching) Sunday school. He taught young boys. To later hear them talk about my dad and how he impacted them was a neat thing.” Hunsaker was twice named the American Sunday school teacher of the year.
Hunsaker and Ali remained friends over the years, with Ali coming to Hunsaker’s retirement party. When Hunsaker died, an etching of him fighting Cassius Clay was immortalized forever on his tombstone. His loss made him a boxing subconscious legend, because he lost to the greatest fighter there ever was, Muhammad Ali, whom he predicted would become a world champion. A member of the National Police Hall of Fame, Hunsaker stood 6’3″ to Muhammad Ali’s 6’2″. Hunsaker was taller than Ali, a rarity for Ali opponents, a fact not known to most boxing experts. Ali never forgot his first opponent, a small unafraid town police chief who, when most people did not know who Olympic gold medalist Cassius Clay was, took the fight to the young debuting Clay and tried his heart out to win. Ali and Hunsaker enjoyed a friendship for the ages, with keen mutual respect. Hunsaker lost a decision to Muhammad Ali and went on to law enforcement success.
English
No Comments Yet