The desire to own keepsakes connected to sports heroes never seems to wane. Fans treasure autographed balls, game-used gear, and personal possessions as intimate connections to sports greatness. This passion often leads them to shell out substantial sums for rare items, much like those that often grace the counters at Les and Seth Gold’s American Jewelry and Loan in Detroit.
The Gold family has been in the pawn business since 1978, when Les opened his first shop. His son, Seth, now helps run the store, which is featured on the truTV reality show “Hardcore Pawn,” Fox Sports reported.
In one episode, Seth Gold recalled two standout items related to Muhammad Ali; that clips has recently resurfaced on social media.
The Iconic Boxing Robe
Muhammad Ali’s memorabilia, even while he was still alive, fetched significant sums. This was evident when a man walked into Gold’s store carrying what he claimed was a boxing robe worn by Ali. The man, identifying himself as Muhammad Ali Jr., wanted to sell the unique piece of history.
“The robe was brought into us on the show by Ali’s son, but the only documentation he had was a picture of his dad and Joe Frazier,” Gold said. “His son had fallen on hard times, and this was the last bit of memorabilia he had from his dad. You felt really bad for him because he was quite honest. He said, ‘I haven’t seen my dad in a really long time, and I just need some money, and this is his robe from this picture.’ And to actually see [the photo] of him and Frazier was just unreal.”
