Harold Bell with “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali. (AFRO Photo)
One of the District and the country’s earliest Black sportscasters plans to release a film in the near future on boxing legend Muhammad Ali on the noted anniversary of one of the pugilist’s greatest fights.
Harold Bell, who coined the term “Inside Sports,” showed a 30-minute documentary titled “Ali’s Words of Wisdom” on Oct. 4 at Tony’s Boxing Gym in Northeast Washington and a shorter version on Oct. 5 at Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street, N.W. Bell worked on the film with noted actor Robert Hooks, who served as a commentator, and said the timing is right to re-air the interview.
“I interviewed Ali right after the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight that took place in Zaire,” Bell said. “We are coming on to the 40th anniversary of the fight and I decided to revisit the interview he granted to me. I was the first person to interview him after that fight.”
The fight between Ali and George Foreman, which had an unprecedented worldwide audience, took place on Oct. 30, 1974 at the 20th of May Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Ali won the fight by knocking out Foreman at the end of the eighth round. Sports media experts and promoters have called it the greatest sporting event of the 20th century.
From 1960-1990, Bell was a prominent fixture on the sports media scene on television and the radio in the District and nationally, interviewing and interacting with such figures as Georgetown University head basketball coach John Thompson Jr., Olympic and professional boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown, and a host of Washington Redskins and Washington Bullets players. He also has operated his charity, Kids in Trouble, that has given toys and support for decades, and counted President Richard M. Nixon as a friend and mentor.
Bell met Ali at Howard University in 1964 after he addressed students there. They had preliminary conversations about doing a project together but lost contact for five years due to Ali’s schedule and the events in his controversial life, notably fighting the U.S. government over being drafted into service in Vietnam.
The 40th anniversary of the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight is Oct. 30. (Courtesy Photo)
The two re-connected in Cleveland where Ali was putting on a boxing exhibition. Bell kept in touch with Ali, and notes that when the opportunity came for the sportscaster to fly to Zaire for the fight, he declined to do so. “I told Ali that I could not fly over all of that water,” Bell said. “Ali mocked me by flapping his arms like a chicken.”
Hooks, a well-known actor who has worked on such films as Hurry Sundown in 1967, Trouble Man in 1972 and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1974, said he is happy to work with Bell on the project. “Harold Bell is an old friend of mine,” the actor said. “He contacted me and showed me a film of the interview and I thought that it was extraordinary.”
Bell said that the Ali interview was not designed to be a typical sportscaster interaction. “I talked to Ali about the game of life,” he said. “Ali is a deep man.”
The documentary shows Ali sitting with Bell musing on subjects such as politics, religion, and life. At times, the boxer uses his verbal skills of rhyme to explain his positions while Bell dutifully listens.
Bell’s project could become a hot commodity because Ali sold 80 percent of his name and likeness to the entertainment and licensing firm CKX for $50 million and 20 percent control of advertising. Bell’s friends have suggested he approach HBO or ESPN for the right to air the documentary.
Tony Bell, a longtime friend of Bell’s and the owner of Tony’s Gym, said he supports what Bell is trying to do. “I went to school with Harold Bell’s brother and I know him from his years as a roving leader for the District government,” Bell, a former D.C. police sergeant, said. “I was happy to host the showing of the documentary at my gym because I know what he has done for the community.”
