1964 Chocolates Simon #87 Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali

The 1964 Chocolates Simon set included one of the very first Cassius Clay cards to be distributed in packs. Released in Spain, these cards were actually inserted in packages of chocolate. Collectors glued these cards into the Chocolates Simon Album and tried to complete the set. “Album 3 Anos De Vida Mundial”, focused on the biggest historical events from a 3 year period previous to its release in 1964. Most of the cards are historical figures rather than athletes. There are 3 different sizes of cards in this set, which includes the first ever card of Martin Luther King, a JFK assassination card and a scarce Pele card. The Clay card is slightly larger and square in shape when comparing to typical cards today. The majority of the cards in this set come in a smaller size (seen below). There are also a few jumbo-sized cards that take up about a 1/2 page in the album. Marilyn Monroe is one of the jumbo-sized cards.

The Spanish translation on the back reads: “Album 3 years of world life. Simon Chocolates Exclusive. Cassius Clay was proclaimed world heavyweight champion in the year 1964 by defeating Sonny Liston by KO. This is a large sticker, exchangeable for 4 small stickers. Simon Chocolates - How delicious they are!”

It appears that these Cassius Clay cards were redeemable for 4 other smaller cards in the set. This may add to their overall rarity today. Although all of the Chocolates Simon cards have extremely low pop counts and are rarely seen on the market for sale.

Most of the Clay cards that have been found were removed from the album and have damaged backs (glue residue and paper loss). It is not uncommon to see this card with the imprint of an “S” on it which may have been stamped on the chocolate bar. I have also seen several of these cards with chocolate stains on the back. The vast majority of these cards have graded at a PSA 1 or PSA 2 level due to surface defects. PSA has only graded 27 total copies with a single PSA 6 earning the highest grade. The image on this card is not his most appealing to the eye, however it depicts one of Clay’s most famous moments when he was interviewed after defeating Sonny Liston in 1964 to become Heavyweight Champion for the first of 3 times in his amazing career. This moment exemplifies the historical and cultural significance of Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali’s life and the impact he made on the world. As he was interviewed, he stood next to the former champ Joe Louis in a crowded ring and proclaimed that he was the greatest fighter that ever lived. “I am the king of the world. I’m pretty. I’m a bad man. I shook up the world!”

A video of that interview can be seen below: