The Greatest of All Time

He was the Greatest, maybe the greatest entertainer, and a pretty damn good boxer.  He was also an activist, and way ahead of his time as a humanitarian.  I've said before and I'll say again that I am NOT a boxing fan.  But I'm a huge fan of athletes, especially when they go and do superhuman things that go above and beyond the powers of mere mortals.  I still get chills when I think about Muhammad Ali carrying the Olympic Torch in Atlanta.  I was just a young man when that happened, but it made a tremendous impression on me.

I'd been on the hunt for an Ali autograph for a long time.  I really wanted something on-card, and something old back from when his handwriting was maybe just a little less shaky.  Pugilistic Parkinsons is a terrible disease, and in addition to robbing him of his mind and abilities, it made his autograph nearly illegible.  A sad thing to see happen to such a great and tremendous presence of a man.  I found my match with one of the older (2000) Upper Deck Master Collection boxes.  I bought one of these during a Black Friday sale a few years ago, and opened it up.  I've since moved the memorabilia and one of the other autographs, but kept the one that I really liked, along with the ridiculously nice base set and wooden box.  This one won't ever leave my personal collection.  Have I mentioned how much I like the older Upper Deck stuff?