My good friend Hersh Borenstein owns a sports memorabilia store here in Toronto use to carry Ali signed items up until a couple years ago. He recently wrote a blog on his store website pertaining some info you may not want to hear, but it will inform you of the tough task ahead finding Ali stuff. I would definitely try Steiner Sports in New York, and if they can't help you, maybe they can point you in the right direction. Here's the Ali blog, and the link it was taken from May 27th 2009! Good luck in your search. http://frozenpondauction.com/blog/
Troy
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"I believe Muhammad Ali’s last public autograph appearance was at the 2003 National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. My friends at Steiner Sports were running the autograph area and told me I could get a personalized 16X20 photo and my picture with “The Greatest” for the sum of $400. It wasn’t the money that scared me off, but the fact that the lineup at the time was at least an hour long and I did not have the patience to wait. So I bypassed the opportunity.
Fast forward to the present day, and Ali autographs have almost completely dried up. We are talking about a guy that signed a TON of autographs over the years and was a steady seller for us until around 2007. I always had Ali product in stock and we were sure to bring at least one item to each charity auction in which we participated. Then the prices started going up - considerably. A framed Ali photo that once sold for $999 was now retailing for double that. Boxing gloves and robes disappeared entirely. Charities were getting upset because we were no longer able to provide their most profitable raffle items. I was under the impression Ali was still participating in at least one private autograph session per year, but I now believe these events have ceased as well.
We recently had a customer inquire about an Ali autograph, so I went looking to see what I could find. The cheapest signature available to me was $1,800 U.S. and went up to $4,000 U.S. for a signed punching bag. These prices were wholesale. I know Ali’s battle with Parkinson’s disease has had an effect on “The Champ’s” ability to pen his signature, but I would be curious to know if his autographing has stopped altogether. At $2,000-$4,000 per signature, Ali would easily be the most expensive living autograph.
More than anything, I’m really angry at myself for not standing in line for an hour back in 2003."
Hersh Borenstein
