Muhammad Ali Signed Official National League Baseball JSA COA
$999.00
Born as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad Ali was nicknamed "the Greatest," and many pundits consider him the greatest heavyweight of all time. Presented is a Muhammad Ali single-signed, 1984-99 Official National League Ball (Coleman). Ali held the Ring magazine World Heavyweight title from 1964-70. He was the undisputed World Heavyweight from 1974-78, and the WBA and the Ring magazine World Heavyweight champion in 1978-79. In the 1960 Rome Olympics, Ali won the Gold Medal in the Light Heavyweight division. He turned professional later that year, and progressed through the ranks. Then, on February 25, 1964, he won his first World Heavyweight crown in a major upset over Sonny Liston. Also, in '64, he changed his birth name to Muhammad Ali. Ali defended his title in May 1965 against Liston, winning in the opening round by what some writers termed a "phantom punch." Speculation included unproven allegations that Liston, under pressure from mobsters, threw the fight. In 1967, Ali refused induction into the United States military, citing his objection to the Vietnam Conflict as a conscientious objector. He was stripped of his titles and convicted of draft evasion. He avoided prison while appealing his conviction and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1971. Ali's career included three classic fights versus Joe Frazier. Frazier won the first battle, in '71 at Madison Square Garden in New York City; Ali won Ali-Frazier II in '74, also at Madison Square Garden, and Ali won the final Ali-Frazier fight, in October '75, in the Philippines, known as "The Thrilla in Manilla," one of the most brutal heavyweight fights in history. Another memorable Ali fight was his "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in 1974 in Kinshasa, in Africa. Ali won this bout by defeating George Foreman, who passed away in 2025. Ali died in 2016.
Ali's youngest child is Asaad Ali, adopted at five months of age by Muhammad Ali and Yolanda "Lonnie" Williams, and both Asaad and Lonnie love baseball, with them traveling to support Louisville in the 2025 College World Series, with Asaad working and Lonnie as a fan. Asaad played high school baseball as a catcher in 1992, batting .367, with a pair of doubles, two home runs and 18 RBIs in 25 games. He was drafted in the 40th Round of Baseball's Free Agent draft in 1992 by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and he later was on the baseball team at the University of Louisville. He now works for the University of Louisville as a videographer and multi-media content provider. Ali signed the offered baseball on the sweet spot, scripting a signature in blue, ballpoint pen. The single-signed baseball comes with a JSA LOA (Ceret. #: ZZ37548).
