A unique pair of signed boxing gloves worn by Cassius Clay during one of the most controversial fights in the famous boxer's career goes up for auction today.
The gloves are a highlight in an auction of boxing, tennis and cricket memorabilia taking place at Christie's in London. Muhammad Ali - known as Cassius Clay at the time - wore the gloves when he fought Henry Cooper on June 18th, 1963. A tear in the left glove appears to have been instrumental in turning the fight from one in which Clay was knocked to the floor and saved by the bell to his triumph over Cooper in the next round.
"Cooper whacked him with a left hook at the end of the fourth round. Muhammad Ali fell to the floor," a Christie's spokesman said. " He got saved by the bell.
"In those days the counts stopped when the bell went. Nowadays they'll count through till 10. So he got saved by the bell, got up on his feet, went to the corner and Angelo Dundee, his very famous trainer, noticed there was a tear in Ali's left glove," the spokesman said.
Dundee brought the torn glove to the attention of the referee, which afforded Ali extra recovery time. Ali went on to knock Cooper out one minute and 10 seconds into the following round.
The pair of maroon leather lace-up boxing gloves, the left glove subsequently autographed and dedicated "To Alex from Muhammad Ali, Jan-14-79", are estimated at £10,000 sterling (#163,000) to £15,000. Both gloves are in a worn state, with the left one still split.
The auction includes an archive of letters written by P.G. Wodehouse to a Sussex cricketer. "They've never been seen before. No P.G. Wodehouse biographer has ever seen them," said the Christie's spokesman.
The archive comprises 75 letters and additional photographs written over half a century to cricketer "Billy" Griffeth. It begins in the 1930s when Griffeth was a schoolboy and draws to a close more than 50 years later, with Griffeth a grandfather and Wodehouse in his 90s. The fascinating archive, signed P.G. Wodehouse, P.G. or Plum, is full of charm, humour and eccentricity. It is expected to fetch between £8,000 and £12,000.
The cricket section also includes property of the late Brian Stratham CBE who played for Lancashire and England. A blue England touring cap from the successful 1954-55 Australian tour is expected to make £3,000 to £5,000.
The tennis section boasts some Wimbledon medals. An 18-carat gold medal from 1896 inscribed Lawn-Tennis Champion 1896, Mr H.S. Mahony, is expected to fetch £10,000 to £15,000. Other medals from Mahony's estate include a gold Davis Cup winner's reserve medal, 1903, estimated at £2,500£3,500, and three silver Queen's Club winner's medals from 1898, 1900 and 1904, each estimated at £2,000£3,000.
A collection of 11 Wimbledon advertising posters, which sought to encourage passengers to travel by Underground to Wimbledon between 1925 and 1930, are estimated at £500 to £2,000.
Mr Denis Drum, of Drum's auction rooms in Malahide says boxing, tennis and cricket collectors in the Republic are a "small and select body of people".
"The boxing, cricket and tennis memorabilia is obviously a very popular, exciting and specialist field. There are a lot of collectors in that regard, obviously more so in Britain than there would be here - particularly for the cricket. For the specialist, it's of huge interest. It takes some building up to get a sale like that."
jmarms@irish-times.ie
