DS signed “Cassius Clay,” one page, 8.5 x 11, stamp-dated April 25, 1963. A rider to a previous Screen Actors Guild agency contract for an undisclosed motion picture, with Clay hiring an agent “in the entertainment industry.” Signed at the bottom in blue ballpoint, “Cassius Clay.” Small portion of another signature lightly overlapping beginning of Clay’s signature, and torn punch and staple holes to top edge, otherwise fine condition.
Having amassed a 19-0 record from 1960 to 1963, the man who would become Muhammad Ali was well on his way to becoming The Greatest. Although he appeared on The Jack Paar Show and The Jerry Lewis Show late in the year, there is no evidence that he made any noteworthy television or film role in the spring. Not that he needed to, as at the time, the prizefighter was readying himself for a June appearance against Henry Cooper in the United Kingdom (a non-title fight in which Clay was literally saved by the bell after being felled by a left hook) and then a 1964 match-up against Sonny Liston in which the underdog Clay proved victorious. Ironically, despite their client earning huge sums of money, Ali’s agents had little financially to show for their work during this period as numerous expenses and Ali’s spending habits ate into profits. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, making early signed documents rare and desirable. Pre-certified Steve Grad/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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