Made a neat pickup, 1960 Hemmets Journal Cassius Clay (of course, I hope to get it signed!)

thenavarro

Got a neat item of Cassius Clay AKA Muhammad Ali. PSA lists this as the first "card" for Ali, but I know there are a lot of people that don't agree with their assesment as it was issued as a sheet and supposedly intended to be put in sheet form into some album. Here is the "card" in sheet form (not my sheet, just an image I found of the whole sheet)



I've been wanting for some time to get an autographed rookie card of The Greatest of All Time, Ali, and I figured I better go ahead and start to make it happen as soon as reasonably possible. I decided to go with the first issue for Ali and that was this 1960 Hemmets Journal card. There has been one on ebay for a while and the seller has always been nice and polite with my inquires, so I decided to go ahead and get this one from him:



Of course, I'll be cracking it out and plan on getting Ali to sign it through KLF Sports. It will come PSA/DNA authenticated through PSA's "In the Presence" program (may not be the correct term, but it's when the PSA rep witnesses the athlete's signature). Once completed, this will be one of the cornerstones of my signed rookie card collection, and admittedly, will probably be my favorite. I just hope the sig looks halfway decent, but that's highly variable now with Ali's condition.

vladguerrero

freaking awesome! I would specify that psa put the psa/dna sticker on the coa and not the item though.

purduepete

That will be a very nice addition to your collection!

It would be even nicer if he signs it "Clay" instead of "Ali"...

72skywalker

I notice the PSA label says (MC). I think that means miscut right. How can it be a miscut and a handcut card at the same time?

jivan

he is not going to sign it !!!

swartz1

Sweet looking 3....

thenavarro

<< <i>he is not going to sign it !!! >>



Will he not sign this particular card?

Brock21

I don't think he will sign anything with Cassius Clay, and definitely not Clay.

He signed some Sports Illustrateds for me a couple years back when he
was at a youth baseball tournament with his son, and his "handlers"
said he will not sign Clay, and don't ask.

wrestlingcardking

He should sign the card Muhammad Ali though....for a nice fee

thenavarro

<< <i>I don't think he will sign anything with Cassius Clay, and definitely not Clay.

He signed some Sports Illustrateds for me a couple years back when he
was at a youth baseball tournament with his son, and his "handlers"
said he will not sign Clay, and don't ask. >>



I've heard that from some people, but I've met Ali three times before myself, and on all three occasions, all you had to do was ask him to sign "Cassius Clay" and he would (well, he would sign it "Muhammad Ali AKA Cassius Clay") However, I never have presented him an item that was already labeled Cassius Clay, so I don't know for sure if he will do it or not, and unfortunately, with it being a private signing, not sure how his "handlers" will react to it. I fully believe that if it was a public signing, that there would be no doubts he would sign it as he doesn't like to disappoint from my few encounters with him. I'm only going to ask the promoter to have it signed "Muhammad Ali" and see how it goes. If he won't do it, I'll just get it reslabbed and sell it.

Mike

eagles33

nice card.. looks real good for psa 3. its a tough debate what his rookie is.. i would say its between this or the lampo. I bought the 66 panini and was on the bandwaggon for a while.. but now i'm leaning towards one of the earlier cards. All three are much better than the 71 barret. For some reason that card sells the best on ebay though. Good luck getting it signed

scashaggy

First, nice pickup. Ali would sign that item without problem, for a fee through management, of course. Ali himself would probably sign it Clay, but his people may not allow it. Too bad this isn't twenty years earlier, you could mail it to him direct.

The statement that Ali will not sign anything with Clay on it is not true. Early on, he wouldn't sign the name Cassius Clay but that changed later in life as did his attitude towards whites, Muslims, women, etc.

As one of my favorite Ali quotes go "A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life."

Good luck on the signature venture and I would love to hear about it.

Shawn

scashaggy

Here's a card from my collection.

gregmo32

1966 Panini carries the best overall pedigree as the RC, with the other obscure issues being the equivalent of minor league or XRC at best.

miklia

I just picked up one of these sets, with both the Clay and Floyd Patterson sheets. Any suggestions on how / if to hand-cut? as you can see in Mike's pic, cutting the bottom card for an even border requires you to use the entirety of the bottom border of the above card. I don't see how Mike's card got a 3 MC, when it looks perfectly cut to me...

Jmhockey23

<< <i>I just picked up one of these sets, with both the Clay and Floyd Patterson sheets. Any suggestions on how / if to hand-cut? as you can see in Mike's pic, cutting the bottom card for an even border requires you to use the entirety of the bottom border of the above card. I don't see how Mike's card got a 3 MC, when it looks perfectly cut to me... >>



Here is a PSA 6 that sold on ebay. Looks like you need to cut more of the bottom boarder to avoid the MC...

LINK

miklia

thanks! and woah on the price. will need to use a steady hand on it, as my sheet's totally clean. razor blade and straight edge best for these you think? they're on photo stock.

Jmhockey23

<< <i>thanks! and woah on the price. will need to use a steady hand on it, as my sheet's totally clean. razor blade and straight edge best for these you think? they're on photo stock. >>



I have no idea about hand cutting cards, but I know there are some people around here that are pretty good at it. Search "hand cut". I know a few people here have posted successful hand cuts that got psa 9s and 10s. I would even suggest letting one of them cut it for you.

Big80s

I'm excited to see you get this signed, Mike! Ali's cards (and autos) have really been heating up lately.

miklia

sorry for bumping a 2 year old thread, big80s. but Mike, did you ever get it signed?

thenavarro

<< <i>sorry for bumping a 2 year old thread, big80s. but Mike, did you ever get it signed? >>



Yes sir, and it turned out great. It also bumped up to a straight 4 without a MC when I resubbed it. Grading is very subjective and depends on the individual grader that day. Mine is graded that low because of surface issues, not because of cut. Presents very well for it's grade.

Big80s

I really need to start looking at post dates. Talk about late to the game. Great card though, Mike!

CDsNuts

His mama calls him Cassius, I'm gonna call him Cassius.

YogiBerraFan

<< <i>His mama calls him Cassius, I'm gonna call him Cassius. >>



Sounds like a quote from Coming to America, sort of

miklia

outstanding piece Mike - was going to get mine just slabbed, but would love to get mine signed if possible. Do you know if he's scheduled for any shows this year?

thenavarro

<< <i>outstanding piece Mike - was going to get mine just slabbed, but would love to get mine signed if possible. Do you know if he's scheduled for any shows this year? >>



I don't think Ali does any shows on the circuit anymore. If you can't happen to "bump" into him, then you can get items signed through KLF Sports. They had/have a business relationship with Muhammad Ali Enterprises as well as with Collectors Universe (PSA/DNA) Every Ali autograph through them comes with both Ali's personal hologram as well as PSA/DNA's "in the Presence" authentication. I realize price is all relative, but for me it wasn't cheap. I think for my small flat, it cost about $750 or so to get it signed.

If interested, you can find them here:

http://alisignatures.com

Good luck,

Mike

miklia

woah again. i'll just cut and sub mine then, think it turned out OK. and FYI - it has the exact same mark to the left of his head as yours..

either way, that's a one of a kind piece Mike - I doubt there's any others!