Odessa Lee Grady Clay, 77, mother of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, dies

Jet, Sept 12, 1994

Odessa Lee Grady Clay, 77, mother of three-time heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali, died recently of heart failure at a nursing home in the Louisville, KY, area.

Mrs. Clay had been disabled by a stroke since February, according to family friend John Ramsey.

Whether at small gyms early in her son's boxing career or at international sites when he became world famous, Mrs. Clay was a fixture at the bouts of Ali, who was formerly known as Cassius Clay.

Mrs. Clay was predeceased by her husband, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., who died in 1990. In addition to the legendary boxing great, she is survived by another son, Rahman Ali.