Muhammad Ali's return to boxing in Atlanta ended with a heist

Context: Ali, who had been blacklisted from boxing over his objection to the Vietnam War, defeated Jerry Quarry at a sold-out Atlanta Municipal Auditorium.

Zoom in: After Ali's fight, high-profile New York mobsters, hustlers and their entourages arrived at a Collier Heights home owned by Gordon "Chicken Man" Williams for a VIP party, according to Creative Loafing.

• The party was VIP-only but it was no secret; word spread beforehand that people with deep pockets and women wearing fine jewelry would be in attendance, according to Creative Loafing.

Threat level: A group of robbers with sawed-off shotguns greeted the arriving guests, forced the partygoers into the basement, ordered them to strip their clothes and hand over their valuables.

• By the early hours of the morning, the space was so cramped people were stacked on top of each other. The bandits made off with an estimated $1 million without firing a shot.

State of play: One month after the robbery, a Georgia grand jury indicted three men for the crime. One was arrested by Atlanta police; the two others were gunned down in the Bronx the following May.

The big picture: Williams, a player in Atlanta's illegal lottery operation called The Bug, became a pastor. He died in 2014.