A Christmas gift to a six-year-old boy in Louisville in 1963 several years later began to take on a life of its own, especially when it was connected to the late Muhammad Ali.
Billy Pfund was surprised that Christmas with two pairs of boxing gloves from his aunt and uncle. But that wasn’t all. One of the gloves had been autographed by Cassius Clay.
“My uncle Cliff worked in the hat department at Levy Brothers department store in downtown Louisville,” Pfund said. “This was before the boxer became Muhammad Ali and before he became the champ.”
Levy Brothers was an upscale department store at Third and Market from 1892 until 1980. The building is now the Spaghetti Factory. As Clay’s professional boxing career began to evolve after his 1960 Olympic gold medal performance, he began to upgrade his wardrobe.