Photo: Neil Leifer
Now, when you fly to Louisville, Kentucky, you'll be arriving at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
On Wednesday, the Louisville Regional Airport Authority's board voted to rename the airport to honor one of its hometown heroes, the great Muhammad Ali. The news was announced a day before Ali would have turned 77 years old. He was born on January 17, 1942.
"I am proud that the Louisville Regional Airport Authority and the City of Louisville are supportive of changing the name of the Louisville International Airport to reflect Muhammad’s impact on the city and his love for his hometown," Ali's widow Lonnie Ali said in a statement.
"I am happy that visitors from far and wide who travel to Louisville will have another touch point to Muhammad and be reminded of his open and inclusive nature, which is reflective of our city. Muhammad was a global citizen, but he never forgot the city that gave him his start. It is a fitting testament to his legacy."
Ali not only blazed his own trail in the ring, but his work as an activist-athlete continues to remain an inspiration for today's Black athletes to use their platform to bring awareness to social and political issues.
Long live "The Greatest."