‘Get the Champ a Stamp.’ Behind the push to get Muhammad Ali on a U.S. stamp.

When Lonnie Ali came to California to visit one of the Muhammad Ali Center’s newest board members in 2022, she noticed two framed photos in Peter Villegas’ home office.

One was a postage stamp of Roberto Clemente, the famed Puerto Rican baseball player tragically killed at 38 in an airplane crash. The second was a stamp of Cesar Chavez, who formed the American Farm Workers of America AFL-CIO.

Villegas, who is also chairman of the California State Athletic Commission, which regulates boxing, told Lonnie Ali: “I should have Muhammad Ali’s stamp up there.”

Muhammad Ali’s widow told Villegas that would be impossible.

Muhammad Ali has never been featured on a U.S. stamp, she said.

Villegas was stunned.

“I, like most people, would automatically assume he was already on a stamp,” Villegas said.

“We got to get the Champ a stamp,” Villegas said.

Lonnie Ali gave her stamp of approval.

“He would have loved that,” Ali said of Villegas’ off-the-cuff “get the champ a stamp.”

Villegas, who idolized Ali — Villegas’ daughter is named after him — is now behind the push to get Ali on a stamp.

It’s only fitting. One of the Louisville native’s most colorful and famous quotes: “I should be a postage stamp, because that’s the only way I’ll ever get licked,” he once said.

Tuesday is Ali’s birthday. He would have been 81. Ali died in 2016 at 74 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Lonnie Ali said her late husband would be thrilled to be on a stamp.

The two talked about it when Muhammad Ali was alive.

“He was excited and elated that there would be stamp with a picture of him on it,” Lonnie Ali said. “He knew how many people would go out and buy it.”

More than six years after his death, a stamp would help continue Ali’s legacy, she said.

Ali’s message is simple, she said. “To be more compassionate, to be more giving to their neighbors, their fellow man, toward people they haven’t met.”

‘A long process’

Anyone can nominate someone to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp, according to the U.S Post Office website.

In 2018, the U.S. Postal Service changed the rules so only people who have been dead three years or longer will be considered for a stamp.

The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, which chooses who will be featured on a U.S. stamp, also favors American or American-related subjects that “honor extraordinary and enduring contributions to American society, history, culture or environment.”

The nominations must be sent by mail, of course.

Jeanie Kahnke, senior director of public relations and external affairs for the Muhammad Ali Center, said the application has already been sent. They are still awaiting word on whether Ali will get a stamp.

“Muhammad is very deserving to be on a postage stamp,” Kahnke said. He was a three time world heavy weight champion. “He is a cultural icon. He was a civil rights activist. He was really the people’s champion. This June will be seven years since his passing. His legacy and relevance and impact still lives on not just in Kentucky but around the world..”

Villegas and Lonnie Ali said they are not aware of previous applications to put Ali on a stamp.

Other sports notables have been featured on stamps. But it is still an exclusive club.

For example, the last baseball player to receive the honor was Yogi Berra in 2021. That stamp was issued six years after his death. He was the 30th baseball player to be featured on a stamp, according to a 2021 New York Times article. In comparison, there are 269 players in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It typically takes three years after a subject is selected for a stamp to be issued.

“This is a long, legal process,” Kahnke said.

Villegas has pushed a publicity campaign to raise awareness about the effort to get Ali on a stamp.

In June, former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and the Ali Center held a press conference touting the effort to get Ali a stamp.

Other cities, including Lexington, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Calif., other civic and state groups have also passed resolutions backing the effort to put Louisville’s most famous son on a postage stamp.

An ‘Ali fanatic’

Villegas said he grew up a “Muhammad Ali fanatic.”

As the youngest of seven brothers, he admired Ali’s prowess in the ring.

“I got beat up for waking up,” Villegas said.

But as the son of a Mexican immigrant, he also admired Ali’s courage. Ali would not bend to racism. He was not afraid. He gave oppressed people a voice. He was a true civil rights pioneer, he said.

“When I was growing up in the 1970s we got sent to the principal’s office for speaking Spanish,” Villegas said. “He gave me inner strength,” he said.

Villegas said Ali’s message is needed more today than ever. A stamp will help a new generation understand Ali’s message, he said.

“Not only is it a long over due and earned recognition, but my hope is that it can help current and future generations of all ages and genders to be better people,” Villegas said. “To help communities stand up for themselves and for what is right.”