George Foreman, Boxing Champion and Grilling Magnate, Dies at 76

George Foreman, a heavyweight boxing champion who returned to the sport to regain his title at the improbable age of 45, and parlayed his fame and amiable personality into a multimillion-dollar grill business, died on Friday night at a hospital in Houston. He was 76.

His family announced his death on his Instagram account. Roy Foreman, George’s brother, said the cause of death was not known.

When Foreman returned to the ring after 10 years away, there was skepticism that a fighter of his years could beat any younger fighter, much less come back to the top of the game. But in 1994, he beat the undefeated Michael Moorer to reclaim the world title, shocking the boxing world.

Foreman’s career spanned generations: He fought Chuck Wepner in the 1960s, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali in the ’70s, Dwight Muhammad Qawi in the ’80s and Evander Holyfield in the ’90s.

And his popularity helped him make millions selling grills after his retirement.

George Edward Foreman was born Jan. 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, to Nancy Ree (Nelson) Foreman and J.D. Foreman, a railroad construction worker. As an adult, he learned that his biological father was a man named Leroy Moorehead.