Born December 28, 1942 in New York, NY. Leifer’s professional career began as a freelance photographer for Sports Illustrated in 1960. He remained at the storied publication until 1978. During his 18 years at SI, 170 of his photos landed on the cover.
Following his tenure at SI, he became a staffer at TIME magazine where his photos appeared on 40 covers. Leifer’s body of work includes many of the most iconic images in boxing history including Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston in their 1965 rematch and the innovative overhead photo taken from the rafters of the Houston Astrodome of Ali standing victorious over Cleveland Williams in 1966. Leifer has published nine books of his collection of sports photographs. In addition to shooting 16 Olympic Games, he has photographed nearly every major heavyweight title bout since the 1960 rematch between Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson. He has photographed Ali on 60 different occasions, including his fights and over 30 one-on-one studio sessions. His photos have also appeared in major magazines Saturday Evening Post, Look, LIFE and Newsweek.
Leifer is now a full-time filmmaker, producer and director.
Born: Dec. 28, 1942
Induction: 2014
Neil Leifer
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