Boys' clubs were helped.MUHAMMAD Ali came to Tyneside after Whitburn ex-boxer John Walker persuaded him to come to the region to raise money for boys' clubs. He accepted the invitation and arrived in the North East in July 1977. He held a question-and-answer session at Newcastle's Eldon Square Eldon Square is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom. It was officially opened in 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II and is named after the original Eldon Square (now known as Old Eldon Square) which the shopping centre was built around. Recreation Centre, and had his marriage blessed at the Al Azhar mosque, in South Shields South Shields, city (1991 pop. 86,488), South Tyneside, NE England, at the mouth of the Tyne River. It is a significant port. Shipbuilding and marine engineering are the main industries; chemicals and paints are manufactured. . People turned out in their thousands as their hero toured South Tyneside South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is bordered by four other boroughs - Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, and North Tyneside to the north. in an open-topped bus. Those brave enough even took him on in a mock sparring session in a ring put up on South Shields beach. He visited the Gypsies Green stadium, tried his hand at darts and sparred with a local professional fighter, Reg Long. Ali's visit, just weeks after US president Jimmy Carter had toured the region and in the middle of the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations, was the highlight of the summer for many. CAPTION(S): CROWD-PULLER: Ali's visit in July 1977 |
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