George Edward Foreman was born on January 10, 1949 in Marshall, Texas. He grew up in the Fifth Ward of Houston with six siblings. His step-father, whose last name he bore, drank heavily, and argued violently with his mother. He dropped out of school around 15 and started mugging people and brawling in the streets of Houston.
At 16, however, he received his GED through the Job Corp, a program developed to help disadvantaged kids by teaching them vocational job skills, and learned carpentry and bricklaying.
He moved to Pleasanton, California and was interested in football, However, he took up boxing and competed between 1967 and 1997, with a small break in the late 70's to early 80's, winning two world heavy-weight champion titles and an Olympic gold medal.
"There was a big element of patriotism in what I did; being in the Olympics, you couldn't help but love your country more than before," Foreman said in his autobiography By George. "But I meant it in a way that was much bigger than ordinary patriotism. It was about identity. An American - that's who I was. I was waving the flag as much for myself as for the country. I was letting everyone know who I was and at the same time saying that I was proud to be an American."
At 25, George found out that his biological father was Leroy Moorehead. His mother told him that she had received a letter from him asking to meet George. Leroy was a World War II war veteran. George got to meet him in his church, though he died a few years later. At the funeral, Moorehead’s service pistol and a flag were presented to George. George said that he would never forget looking into an open casket and thinking, “Man, that is my father . . . or could have been.”
During this time, George had four marriages that ended in divorce. In 1985, he married Mary Joan Martelly, who was his wife until his death. He had 12 children, including five sons, all of whom he named George.
His first retirement came when he suffered heat stroke after a fight. He spoke of being in a hellish, frightening place of nothingness and despair, and felt that he was in the midst of death. Wanting to survive, he prayerfully offered "to devote his boxing prize money to charity" when he heard a voice saying "I don't want your money...I want you." He began to plead with God to help him.
George said that he awoke to find himself on a locker room table, surrounded by friends and staff members. He said he felt as if he were physically filled with the presence of a dying Christ. He felt his forehead bleed, punctured by a crown of thorns; his wrists, he believed, had been pierced by nails of the cross. "I knew that Jesus Christ was coming alive in me," Foreman said. "I ran into the shower and turned on the water and — hallelujah! — I was born again. I kissed everybody in the dressing room and told them I loved them. That happened in March 1977, and I never have been the same again."
In an interview, George stated, "I wasn't interested in any religion. But from that point on, I started reciting the Bible, talking from the pit of my stomach, in that dressing room. I was talking about how Jesus was God's son and that he was alive. So when I came out of that, I asked a friend to go get me a Bible. And he said, "What kind?" And I said, "I don't know. One like your mother has." So, he went out and bought me a King James version of the Bible. And that's how I got into religion."
"When I started going to church, there were so many preachers there. They'd let me tell my testimony, but I didn't get a chance to preach much. One kid said to me, "George, I know how you can preach. Let's go on the street corners." I began traveling from one street corner to another, three-fourths through Louisiana, Tyler, Texas, all around Houston."
"One time, I picked a certain corner, just by coincidence. And I preached, it wasn't too far from where my father, J.D. Foreman lived, who had always been an alcoholic. I didn't know that he was hiding in the way, listening to everything I said, and watching me carry on."
"The next week he was in church. And he said to my mother, "You know, something's happened to that boy. I got to find out what it is." He never took another drink. We would go to church as brothers--he called me the preacher, and he was Brother Foreman—until the day he died."
"The next week he was in church. And he said to my mother, "You know, something's happened to that boy. I got to find out what it is." He never took another drink. We would go to church as brothers--he called me the preacher, and he was Brother Foreman—until the day he died."
Following this, HBO boxing commentator Larry Merchant commented that "There was a transformation from a young, hard character who felt a heavyweight champion should carry himself with menace to a very affectionate personality."
George got saved, retired from boxing, and became an evangelist in 1978. He began preaching on the streets of Houston, and eventually became the minister of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which he founded and built. George said, "I'm always studying the Bible. The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don't know."
George came out of retirement in 1987 to raise money for a youth center he founded in 1984- The George Foreman Youth and Community Center, a non-denominational place for kids who need direction like he once did. In 1994, he became the oldest ever heavyweight champion at age 45. In 1997, he retired from boxing again, with a final record of 76 wins, 68 of which were knockouts.
When George came back from retirement, he reasoned that his success in the ring was due to his healthy eating habits. He was approached by Salton, Inc. in the 1990's to be a spokesperson for its fat-reducing grill, which became a sensation thanks to his memorable catchphrase, the "Lean Mean Grilling Machine".
George Foreman died at a hospital in Houston, Texas, on March 21, 2025, at age 76. His life had changed from making the most of himself, to serving his Savior as best he could. "It doesn't matter what you achieve, what you accomplish in this life...The most important thing is to keep your eye on the true prize, and that's serving God."
