Muhammad Ali
17 January saw Muhammad Ali's 71st birthday, while February 25th was the 49th anniversary of his defeating Sonny Liston to claim the world heavyweight championship.
Recent rumours of his impending death came from the notoriously unreliable The Sun newspaper, and have since been refuted by his daughter and wife. Ali, it seems, is still continuing his peaceful life, although it is unquestionable that he is a sick man.
Of all the sports stars I've seen over the past half-century, Ali stands above them like a colossus.
Not only did he dominate boxing during its golden years, he was the world's most recognisable character during the 1970s. More people knew who Ali was than President of USA, the Queen or any other person, alive or dead. John Lennon may have joked that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus, but Ali really was, and not just because he became a Muslim.
This is a man who sacrificed his most valuable earning years on a matter of principle. He faced the outrage of white America at a time when black people's civil rights were still seriously constrained. He stood up against the white establishment and inspired an entire generation with his "No Viet Cong never called me nigger", refusing to kill his fellow human beings.
Even though he was promised a non-active role in the US Army, Ali realised that he would be held up as an example to others if he joined, so instead became an example to right-thinking people right across the world.
For all of my life I can remember, first as Cassius Clay, then as Ali, he was always there. My father was an avid boxing fan and former boxer who first admired Ali for his style, then despised him for "failing in his duty". My dad never understood the black American way of life, so was unable to see past his refusal to join the army.
It was probably the first thing I ever disagreed with my father on.
I wagged school to make sure I saw all the build-up to the Rumble in the Jungle and watched every one of his televised fights as they became available at this end of the world.
Copyright © Alan Charman