USPS celebrates 250th anniversary with stamp honoring first postmaster general
The United States Postal Service is celebrating its 250th anniversary with a special stamp featuring a familiar face.
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Boxer Muhammad Ali once joked that being on a postage stamp was “the only way to get licked.” Currently, there are only a few days left until the release of his own stamp.
A commemorative U.S. Post Office stamp commemorating the boxer and heavyweight champion will be issued for the first time on January 15, the postal service announced, adding that a ceremony honoring the stamp will be held at the University of Louisville L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The stamps will go on sale January 15th and will be sold in packs of 20 for $15.60, according to the Post Office website.
Antonio Alcala, art director of the Post Office’s stamp development program, designed the stamp. The stamp features a 1974 black-and-white Associated Press image of a boxer with his gloves propped up and looking into the lens.
Here’s a little more information about the Champion stamps and other stamps that will be released this week.
The stamp features an image of a 1970s boxing champion
Alcala said on the post office’s website that the stamp features an image of a boxer making eye contact in a “convincing” manner.
“His stance and boxing gloves clearly communicate how he became an American sports icon,” Alcala said.
His name is also printed on stamps, sometimes in all caps, similar to the posters used to promote the athlete’s fights that made history.
Ali learned boxing after his bike was stolen
According to the Muhammad Ali Center, a museum in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, part of Ali’s boxing career stemmed from an incident in his childhood.
Twelve-year-old Ali (real name Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) had his red Schwinn bicycle stolen in 1954. She cried and told a nearby police officer that she wanted to punch the person who stole her bicycle. Police officer, Sgt. Joe Martin trained boxers and encouraged boys to learn how to fight. Ali began training the next day and worked with Martin for the next six years, according to the museum.
The boxer won a gold medal in light heavyweight boxing at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, the museum said on its website. He defeated Sonny Liston on February 25, 1964 to win his first World Heavyweight Championship title.
The following month, he announced his membership in the Nation of Islam, and on March 6, 1964, Nation of Islam leaders gave him the sacred name “Muhammad Ali,” according to the museum.
On April 28, 1967, Ali refused military service in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War due to religious reasons. He was found guilty of draft evasion and sentenced to up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine and a three-year ban from boxing, according to the museum. He was also stripped of his heavyweight title.
Celebrating Ali’s humanitarian work
The sheet, which includes 20 stamps, also features a 1976 photo of Muhammad Ali smiling in a suit.
Ali’s humanitarian work included donations to support families affected by the Robena mine explosion on December 6, 1962.
He also donated $10,000 to the United Negro College Fund in 1967. According to the University of Louisville, the foundation’s president said at the time that Ali’s donation was in a plain envelope with no request for publicity.
“There are many sides to Ali,” Alcala said of the boxer. “We felt it was important to not only represent him as a boxer on the stamp, but also include a photo that shows his side outside of boxing.”
How to get a Muhammad Ali stamp
Anyone who wants to get the stamps can pre-order them at www.store.usps.com or purchase them at post offices nationwide, Postal Service officials announced on January 12.
22 million Muhammad Ali stamps will be printed, officials told USA TODAY.
Other Ali-inspired postal products include a set of two pocket-sized field notes notebooks featuring the boxer, collectible envelopes, and a stamp portfolio detailing the stamp design process.
For more information about the Postal Service’s Ali collection, visit www.store.usps.com.
Saleen Martin is a reporter for USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia (757). Email sdmartin@usatoday.com.
