Black leather boxing headgear worn by Cassius Clay while training under Joe Martin at the Columbia Gym in Louisville, where he began learning the craft at the age of 12. It happened after Martin, a white Louisville patrolman who hosted an early TV show called "Tomorrow's Champions," brought him in and put him to work with a trainer named Fred Stoner, who taught the skinny youngster how to move with the grace of a dancer while sticking the jab, a la Sugar Ray Robinson. In time, Clay hardly needed the headgear, as he was able to bend backwards away from a punch and avoid the blow. Still, Clay came to regard the gear as something of a good-luck charm, and the well worn nature of it attests to its extensive use. Gear is perfectly intact headgear. The manufacturer's label was torn off the front early on and the name "CLAY" put in its place in white paint. The name is also written in black marker on the inside of each ear on the white interior leather cushioning. Headgear was later given by Clay in appreciation to Martin and hung at the Columbia gym until it closed its doors. There are old films of the young and brash Clay sparring in this very headgear. Clearly, the headgear is an incredible and very personal piece of vintage Clay/Ali memorabilia that time stamps his storied march to the heavyweight title and status as the most recognizeable man on earth. It also recreates the excitement and wonder that must have filled the musty air at the Columbia Gym in the early '60s whenever Clay danced into the joint. Headgear is VG-EX and comes with a detailed LOA from Joe Martin's granddaughter. Hellaciously rare sliver of early Ali history.