1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Torch w. Muhammad Ali Signed Photo in Shadow Box

Description

During this 25th anniversary of the 1996 centennial summer Olympic Games held in Atlanta, a collector is offering the following for sale.
Elegant black shadow display box with an original 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Relay Torch (#125), a matted photo of final torch bearer and cauldron lighter Muhammad Ali with his authenticated autograph, and a gold 1996 Atlanta Olympics commemorative license plate.
A certificate of authenticity for Ali's autograph is included.
In addition to the items in the shadow box, a copy of the ACOG Torch newsletter date Mar/Apr 1995 (Vol V No 2 Publication Atlanta 1996 Olympics) with an article about the torch relays is also included.  A photo is the cover is shown.
The lighting of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Cauldron by Muhammad Ali at the Opening Ceremony was viewed by 3.5 billion people worldwide and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest iconic Olympics events of all time.
I am selling this on behalf of the owner who is a golf and handball partner with Ali’s former attorney in addition to a long term collector of art, sports memorabilia, space and aerospace items, classic bicycles and automobiles.
The shadow box display case measures
19”  W x 45 ¼” T x 6 7/8”
D.  It is hinged on the left side with latches on the right.  The plexiglass has very minor surface marks.  The bottom pane has a crack and is being repaired.  I will add a photo of it as repaired.  There is no mounting hardware on the back
SHIPPING /LOCAL PICK-UP / PE
RSONAL DELIVERY
Insured shipping to the United States is 5.
Local pick-up is free.
Seller will personally deliver to buyers located in Southern California at no charge.
Please contact me with location prior to bidding if this option is desired.
International shipping is available.  Please contact me with country and city for a shipping quote.
ABOUT THE 1996 SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES TORCHES
The Torch was designed by Peter Mastrogiannis and constructed of gold-plated brass, aluminum and Georgian Pecan hardwood.
The wooden handle represents the connection of the flame between heaven and earth and the torch's twenty-two reeds, representing every host city of the Olympic Games since 1896, gathered by bands at the top and bottom and displaying the Atlanta Games logo at the top and the quilt of leaves design. The bottom band listing all Olympic cities and their dates since 1896. Torch measures 31.75" in length and 2.5" at the widest point.
1996 OLYMPICS TORCH-BEARING RELAYS
After the flame-lighting ceremony in Olympia and its relay across Greece, the flame arrived in Athens on 6 April. To mark the Centennial of the Games, a special celebration was organised in the Panathenaic Stadium. Representatives of the 17 cities that had hosted the Summer Games before Atlanta were present. Each of them received a safety lamp, whose flame was lit from a main torch. During the next 21 days, these flames were celebrated in each of the former host cities, while the main flame burned in Athens. These flames were extinguished when the main flame left Athens to fly to Los Angeles.
On 27 April, the flame arrived in Los Angeles. The relay on American soil began at the Memorial Coliseum, the Stadium that hosted the Los Angeles Games in 1932 and 1984. The first torchbearer was Olympian Rafer Johnson, the last torchbearer of the 1984 Games. The relay notably passed through St. Louis, host city of the Olympic Games in 1904.
On 19 July, the flame reached the city of Atlanta. In order to honour the origins of the modern Olympic Games, Evander Holyfield, originally from Atlanta, shared the torch with Greek athlete Voula Patoulidou for part of the leg in the Stadium during the Opening Ceremony. Swimmer Janet Evans took over the relay, doing a lap of the track before heading for a long ramp located at the top of the extreme north of the Stadium. She passed the torch to Muhammad Ali, who had the honour of lighting the cauldron.