'Give the champ the stamp': Campaign calls for Postal Service to honor Muhammad Ali

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Say it ain't so, the champ doesn't have a stamp?

As strange as it sounds, Muhammad Ali doesn't.

On Friday prominent figures like Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher and Lonnie Ali, the widow of the humanitarian and boxing great, launched a campaign to have the U.S. Postal Service create a stamp bearing an image of "The Greatest."

"What better day than June 3rd when Muhammad passed, to bring attention to this great honor that we really think he deserves," said Annie Moore, senior manager of content and communications of the Ali Center, while speaking at a press conference there.

And as Ali once said, "I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll ever get licked."

A person must be dead for at least three years before they can become the subject of a postage stamp, and Ali passed six years ago.

"The U.S. Postal Service stamp program honors members, extraordinary individuals who have contributed to American Society, history, culture and environment," said Fischer, who was appearing via Zoom from the U.S. Mayor's Conference in Nevada. "Muhammad Ali more than meets the criteria in place."

There isn't a proposal for what the stamp could look like, and Ali Center board member Peter Villegas said by Zoom that the selection process could take up to three years.

The campaign will use social media to encourage people to back the effort.

"We want everybody across the world to keep the excitement going, and asking all of you to help us," Villegas said. "What can you do? The first thing you need to know is that the social media hashtag starting today will be 'give the champ the stamp.'"

Assuming the stamp eventually gets approved, Lonnie Ali encouraged everyone to refrain from sending an email for at least one day and use the stamp to mail out a letter of kindness to a friend or peer.

"Buy all of those stamps up," she said. "So they have to print more. ... Send a note to your grandmother or to your mother. ... Muhammad would want you to be using this stamp to send out a wedding announcement or a birth announcement. That would really make him happy."

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How long does it take to get a new image on a U.S. postage stamp?

Getting Ali's face on postage stamps will not happen overnight.

The USPS website notes a Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee meets quarterly to consider new stamp subjects "that celebrate the American experience," but "due to the time required for research and approval, ideas for stamp subjects should be received at least three or more years prior to the proposed issuance year."

A person cannot be so honored until at least three years after their death, and if the 13-member committee decides to not recommend a subject's image for a stamp, then a proposal cannot get submitted again until after three years, per the postal service.

The USPS and advisory committee consider 11 criteria to determine eligibility, with one point saying they "will honor extraordinary and enduring contributions to American society, history, culture or environment."

Reporter Billy Kobin contributed to this story. Culture and diversity reporter Jason Gonzalez can be reached at jgonzalez1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Muhammad Ali postage stamp? Campaign launched to honor champ