Choosing the Furnace

On April 28, 1967, Muhammad Ali stood at the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in Houston, Texas, and refused to step forward. When the inducting officer called his name — twice — Ali did not move. He had already counted the cost. Within weeks, the New York State Athletic Commission stripped his heavyweight title and suspended his license. On June 20, a Houston jury convicted him of draft evasion and he was sentenced to five years in prison.…