Behind the Lens – A Look at the World’s Greatest Sports Photographer

by James Robles

Muhammad Ali stands tall over Sonny Liston after a first round knockout during the 1965 Heavyweight Championship bout in Lewiston, Maine. One man and his camera crouch ringside, capturing what is arguably the most famous sports photograph of all time. Is this simple chance, or is there something inherent in Neil Leifer’s approach that distances him from all other sports photographers? In Leifer’s own modest words, “Part of being a great photographer is being lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time, like I was, but a more important part is not missing when you’re in that spot.”

To say Neil Leifer is good with a camera is to say Jack Nicholas is good with a golf club. What differs Leifer from his peers, is his uncanny ability to seize the opportunities his subjects give him.

From a very young age, living in New York City, Leifer gained free admission to New York Giants games by escorting handicapped fans into the stadium. During the 1958 NFL title game between the Giants and Baltimore Colts, Leifer caught a dazzling wide-angle image of the game-winning touchdown––he later sold this and other photographs to Sports Illustrated––he was 16.

Although Leifer has photographed 15 Olympic games, dozens of World Series, countless Kentucky Derbies, and nearly everything in between, his true love is boxing. “When your shooting ringside, you feel what the fighters feel, hot under the overhead ring lights, squeezed in between the other photographers, all of us pressed up to the apron.” The Ali-Liston photo garnered Leifer national fame, appearing on the Sports Illustrated cover, “The Centuries Greatest Sports Photos”. Regardless of its recognition, Leifer still holds a different photo in higher esteem.

A year and a half after the Ali-Liston fight, Leifer photographed a bout between Ali and Cleveland Williams. By rigging his camera 80 feet above center ring, Leifer was able to capture the entire ring in perfect birds-eye symmetry, during what was another Ali knockout. Leifer summarized by saying, “Ali-Williams is my personal favorite picture, but I know that 100 years from now, Ali-Liston is the one picture that everybody will remember.”

In 1978, after smearing the cover of 40 different Sports Illustrated issues, Leifer turned from sports, making his mark on Time Magazine. From Clint Eastwood to Ronald Reagan, Liefer ran the celebrity and political gamut, claiming 40 Time magazine covers. Other notable entries include: an interview with Charles Manson in a California prison cell, smoking a cigar with Fidel Castro in Havana Cuba, and an F-18 fighter-jet ride-along over Kuwait’s burning oil fields.

An impressive resume, and an astounding historical rendering––Leifer’s photographs are the portraits of a world in motion, competition and change. From behind the lens, Leifer has transformed the extraordinary into the unforgettable. What is truly satisfying about this man’s work, is his dedication to it––a reminder that passion and the pursuit of its intrinsic reward are all that supersede greatness. An inspiring quote from the man who elevated the way in which we experience, serves as a poignant reminder of life’s possibility. “My Nikon F was truly my passport to anywhere I could have dreamed of going.”