Title

Autograph written by Cassius Clay, 1963. Creator: Muhammad Ali.

Caption

This note was written in the summer of 1963, months before the World Heavyweight Championship fight between African-American boxers Clay (later Muhammad Ali) and Sonny Liston in February 1964. The Sports Illustrated reporter Frank Deford was on the train with Clay, headed back to New York, when he asked for an autograph for his younger brother Gill. Clay wrote the note on a piece of paper from Deford’s reporter’s notepad. Though the fight with Liston was months away, Deford noted that “[Clay] had recently begun to predict victory for himself.” He added that “So far as I know, though, this was the first written declaration of the prediction which would so shock the sports world.”

Credit line

Photo12/Heritage Images/Heritage Art

Reference

HRM21A73_326

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

License type

Rights managed

Available size

115,4Mb (5,9Mb) / 16,7in x 26,8in / 5010 x 8053 (300dpi)

Keywords

people black sport education country museum boxing text location century handwriting document African American African-American B&W signature afro-american autograph Sixties United States of America Smithsonian Institution black & white black and white B W 1960s Educational Institution 20th century heritage American America USA scientific institution united states World Heavyweight Championship cultural heritage Black History Heritage Art Muhammad Ali Ali Muhammad Liston National Museum of African American History and Culture NMAAHC graphite on paper autographs Cassius Clay Clay Cassius Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr Sonny Liston Sonny Charles L Liston