For many sports fans this iconic 1965 photo personified the image of Muhammad Ali. But while a brutal contest was happening inside the ropes, outside the ring another contest ensued, that being the horde of photographers jockeying for the best spot.
It’s said greatness occurs when preparation meets opportunity. The face between Ali’s legs belongs to Herb Scharfman, photographer for Sports Illustrated. Scharfman’s seniority and status gave him first choice of ringside position and he chose to be near the judges table. The man who took the famous picture was 22-year-old upstart Neil Leifer.
Granted, there was certainly an element of luck involved as no one could foresee what direction the boxers would be facing if there were to be a knock-out. But there was strategy involved in how the photographers prepared. Liefer chose to use color film while his counterparts used black and white. In 1965, shooting in color required powerful strobe lights which needed time to recharge between shots. Therefore, unlike his competitors who fired continually as Ali knocked Sonny Liston to the canvas, Liefer was like a sniper– he had one shot.
The upstart Liefer took one of the most famous sports photos of all time, while the established insider became the butt of trivia questions, “Who’s the guy standing between Muhammad Ali’s legs?”
Leifer eventually became a staff photographer for Sports Illustrated before leaving in 1978 to join Time magazine. When Leifer left Time Inc. in 1990, his photographs had appeared on over 200 Sports Illustrated, Time, and People covers—at that point, the most ever published of one photographer’s work in Time Inc. history.
Was it luck, fate or superior planning that allowed a rookie to capture one of the most iconic pictures of all time? No one knows for sure, but the fact that the most accomplished photographer in the boxing world happened to be staring at Muhammad Ali’s backside in the image….well that’s better than any fiction.