Heavyweight boxing champion and Louisville native Muhammad Ali once said, “I should be a postage stamp, because that's the only way I'll ever get licked.”
On Thursday, the United States Postal Service made one part of that happen, and marked the occasion with Ali’s family, friends and hundreds of fans in his hometown.
“So Ali now has a stamp, but we've got a problem. You no longer lick stamps,” said former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “So it looks like the champ's forecast remains true. He will never be licked.”
During the ceremony, city and state leaders stood on stage and ripped away a bright blue curtain, displaying a larger-than-life version of Ali’s stamp to the crowd. The design has a black-and-white photo of a young Ali in a fighting stance with his name in deep red or dark gray.
Ali’s wife Lonnie, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, Muhammad Ali Center board members and broadcaster Bob Costas celebrated “the champ on the stamp.”
They took turns sharing their favorite memories of Ali. Costas remembered the moment Ali lit the Olympic torch in Atlanta in 1996 while battling Parkinson’s disease, which made it difficult for Ali to walk and stand.
“Muhammad Ali was a patriot,” Costas said. “His story is a deeply American story, and his example stands as a reminder, perhaps particularly in these times, that often the greatest examples of patriotism come in challenging power rather than bowing to it.”
Ali is the first Louisvillain honored on a USPS stamp. Ali was also known for his advocacy work for racial justice in the U.S. and abroad, for donating to Kosair Children’s Hospital, for peace in foreign countries and his attitudes toward war and several other efforts.
In 2005, Ali and his wife founded the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville to further document his legacy. He died in 2016 after his long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Lonnie said her husband wanted his funerary memorial to be “a teaching moment,” and she said Ali would have said the same for Thursday’s ceremony.
“This moment is an invitation to all of us to pause and to ask ourselves before every word we utter, ‘What stamp am I making on this world? What do my words leave behind?’” Lonnie said. “Muhammad spent his life showing up and showing us that true greatness is not measured by who we knock down, but who we lift up. We all have this power.”
Following the reveal, West End resident and gospel singer Patricia “Pat” Mathison performed a cover of “Rise Up” by Andra Day. She said the song symbolizes Ali’s legacy in Louisville and beyond.
Mathison’s father went to Central High School with Ali. She said she remembers her father’s stories about the young man, long before his boxing career.
“I was introduced to greatness at an early age, and didn't even realize it,” she said.
Mathison describes herself as a “big Ali fan” because of the boxer’s humanitarian work and his passion for justice and equality.
“[Ali] sacrificed his own life to stand up for what he believed was right,” she said. “And if a lot more people would do that, I believe we would be living in a much better society.”
In 1967, Ali refused to be drafted in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, which led to him being “exiled” from boxing and losing his titles and passport. He returned to the ring in 1970 and went on to reclaim the heavyweight title in 1974.
Mathison said she preordered her stamps two weeks ago. She said she doesn’t plan on using them, but instead she’ll add them to her collection of Ali memorabilia.
“I'm cherishing things that will only happen in my lifetime,” Mathison said. “I attended the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, and they gave out this two-volume book collection. I also have a miniature golden Wheaties box with Muhammad Ali on the front.”
Ali’s longtime friend John Ramsey said his legacy lives on in him and the people Ali inspired.
“I'll never be as physically gifted, I'll never be as handsome, I'll never be as athletic [as Ali],” Ramsey said. “But there's one thing I can be, and that's kind. And that is what my friend Muhammad Ali taught me.”
The stamps are available online and at all USPS post office locations.
