The Ring’s covers of Muhammad Ali

Sports isn’t exactly my forte. So when I see sports-related items at auction, I usually breeze right past them (unless they’re from the Negro Leagues).  

I had done just that at an a new auction house I was visiting recently when my auction buddy Janet asked if I’d seen the Ring magazines with Muhammad Ali on the cover. I had not, and followed her to the table to have a look-see.  

 

One magazine stood out, its bright red cover forcing me right then and them to pick it up – which I did. On the front was a big headline: “The Heavyweight Champion – Clay or Frazier???” The publication date was May 1970.  

Flipping through the stack of Ring magazines, I saw that several had cover illustrations of Ali – known as Cassius Clay before changing his name in 1964 – along with Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson and others. The African American boxers were names I recognized with histories I knew a little about.  

Another of the Ali magazines was from June 1966, the cover just as bright and colorful. It was a small Ali looking up at a judge behind a huge bench – “Clay at Crossroads,” it proclaimed. I noted that the magazine was still using his birth name and not his new Muslim name – not even on its 1970 cover.  

 

 I knew that these 30 or more boxing magazines would be gobbled up by the fight fans in the room, and when the auction started, that’s exactly what happened.  

The Ring is considered and was referred by several websites as “the Bible of Boxing,” having covered and promoted the industry for nearly 90 years. It was founded in 1922 in New York by sportswriter Nat Fleischer with assistance from promoter Tex Rickard and other investors.  

Its influence was immediate: It started awarding championship belts the same year, with the first presented to Jack Dempsey. Three years later, it began its annual ratings of fighters. Starting in 1928, it began naming fighters of the year. A year later, it began running a prospect of the month, usually tapping some up-and-coming young fighter.  

 

By 1945, its list had expanded to include fight of the year. In the 1970s, four of Ali’s fights were selected, including the 1971 first-time match between him and Frazier at Madison Square Garden, the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” with George Foreman in then-Zaire and the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” with Frazier in the Philippines. In all, six of Ali’s have fights made the list.  

The Ring’s history has not been without scandal. In the mid-1970s, it was accused of falsifying the fight records of some boxers in Don King’s United States Championship Tournament. The result was an early end to the tournament, resignations, a grand jury investigation and maybe a little tarnish on Ring’s reputation.  

The magazine is still around today. It is owned by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Enterprises and based just outside of Philadelphia.  

At the auction, none of the Ali covers were signed, unfortunately. I did find a signed copy from April 1966 selling on the web for $623, an unsigned January 1975 copy for $75, and another unsigned copy of Ali and Frazier on the cover from February 1974 for $35.  

The magazines up for bids did not approach those figures. The Ali-covers, which were part of a lot of three, sold for $15. Other Ring magazines sold in lots of five for $5 to $17.50. Four mags with Joe Frazier on the cover went for $20. One male bidder bought the bulk of them.  

Here’s a look at more of Ring covers.