Billy Eckstine Dies

   

1971 – Muhammad Ali battled Joe Frazier for the heavyweight championship. In what was called the “Fight of the Century,” the two great boxers met at Madison Square Garden in front of a crowd of celebrities. Frazier knocked Ali down in the 14th round and won a unanimous decision, retaining his title a giving Ali his first loss of his professional career.

  1993 – Singer Billy Eckstine died in Pittsburgh at age 78. Eckstine was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader who was awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.