Muhammad Ali once said he wanted to be a postage stamp. Now he’s getting his wish

“ apply the champ a impression.”

That was the rallying blazon out from a room fellow member at the Muhammad Ali Center, according to the legendary boxer’s widow, Lonnie Ali.

To her, it only made sense, given her late husband once joked that he should be turned into a postage stamp “because that’s the only way I’ll ever get licked.”

Now, 10 years after his death — and just two days shy of what would have been his 84th birthday — the man known as The Greatest is getting his wish.

On Thursday, January 15th, the U.S. Postal Service will honour Muhammad Ali with a postage stamp featuring a 1974 Associated Press photograph that captured his iconic boxing stance.

Each sheet of 20 stamps will also feature a photo of Ali in the background posing in a pinstripe suit, along with a caption recognizing his work as an activist and humanitarian.

Lonnie Ali, who was married to the champion for nearly 30 years, told The Associated Press she is thrilled by the tribute.

“Because people, every time they look at that stamp, they will remember him,” she said. €œAnd he will be in the forefront of their consciousness. And for me, that’s a thrill.”

Ali died in 2016 at the age of 74 after battling Parkinson’s disease for more than three decades. Beyond his three heavyweight titles, his accolades include an Olympic gold medal in 1960, the United Nations Messenger of Peace award in 1998, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

The Postal Service says the public is invited to attend the first-day-of-issue ceremony for the Muhammad Ali Forever Stamps on Thursday in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

It’s from there that Lonnie Ali joined As It Happens host Nil Köksal to talk about the event and Ali’s legacy.

Here’s part of that conversation.

I think a lot of our listeners, a lot of people will be very surprised to learn that Muhammad Ali didn't already have a stamp dedicated to him. Why did it take so long? 

Well, first, let me say Muhammad would share with them in that surprise that he did not have a stamp before now. But you know all good things in time, and it's wonderful that we have it now…It took a while because I don't think we thought about it at first. There was a gentleman who had just joined our board here at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, who was looking at some photographs with me of Muhammad, some old photographs. And he asked me, “Lonnie, does Muhammad have a stamp?” I said, no. He said, “why not?” I said, "I don't know. Let's fix that." He took it upon himself to take on that charge and lead this campaign and "get the champ a stamp". The mayor at that time, Mayor Greg Fischer, engaged the Conference of mayors and some other people locally with the Ali Center as well, and some Congressmen — Congressman Yarmuth, Congressman Andre Carson out of Indianapolis, and a few others — to get this done.

How was the decision made to land on the image that you landed on? 

I think they took it because that's the way most people relate to Muhammad in the ring as a boxer. That's probably their first introduction to him, and I think that's why they chose that particular kind of photograph. But I think the one they chose shows that Muhammad was a man of courage and conviction. You can sort of see that in his face. He was a master at his craft, very proud of the way he performed in the ring. But that wasn't his enduring legacy. His enduring legacy is the things that he did outside of the ring. And I think because this is a forever stamp that speaks to that legacy that endures forever. 

In case people don't know, a “forever stamp” means that even if the postage that you have to pay changes, the stamp will still be valid when you send a letter. 

Right? It's like Muhammad. His legacy never changes. It's always giving. It's always giving back. It's like regardless of what happens in the world, that legacy can always be counted on. 

22 million copies have been printed. [The U.S. Postal Service] says they’re not going to be reprinted once they sell out. When do they officially go on sale?

They officially go on sale January 15, the day of the unveiling, which will happen here in Louisville, Kentucky. 

If they can't get out to the post office soon enough, they can always go online to usps.com and order stamps from there.

He was so outspoken, always said what was on his mind. What do you think the power of this stamp could be at this particular time in history, particularly in the United States? 

I think when people look at this stamp — and that's what's so wonderful about it being a forever stamp — is that Muhammad did speak his mind, and he was authentic to his core and stood on his convictions and his principles had no problems in telling people what he thought. And usually Muhammad was right. In fact, most of the time he was right. 

Did you tell him that when he was alive? 

No, he knew it. Muhammad had wisdom beyond his years. I mean, if you go back and look at some of his interviews with Michael Parkinson, for instance, some of the things Muhammad was saying even then are [relevant] today. He just had that sort of global universal wisdom to know how things were and how people were and the challenges we would face and continue to face, and the lessons that he taught. But he led by action — by what he did endure as well. Muhammad was a man of kindness and compassion, and believe it or not, humility. He was very humble in his approach to people. He approached people one on one. He didn't have social media. And so he made that human connection one on one. And it's something that still needs to be followed because nowadays we depend so much on technology to connect with people when it's better to really connect one-on-one, face-to-face. And that's what he liked to do. And he'd like to find out about the people he was talking to, the fans he made. That's what made him so good at being a celebrity is because he really loved the people that he met.

He was your husband, someone you loved, and you had to share him with so many people. I wonder how you're doing now?

We're coming up on the 10th anniversary of his passing, June 3rd of 2026. And it really does not feel like that. It feels like it happened last year. It doesn't feel like he's been gone that long. But then again, a lot of that is because of the relevance of his legacy and how strong his voice still is. I'm doing well. I mean, I'm blessed. You know, Muhammad always looked at life with the glass half full, not half empty. And he was always grateful for the blessings God gave him. And I feel the same way. Yes, we all have challenges. He had challenges. But he overcame those challenges one by one and he never found anything daunting. Muhammad never let anything get in his way of achieving what he wanted to achieve, and set that example for all of us, not only for me, but for his children as well.

Journalist

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