Wednesday, Feb. 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
One man left Las Vegas with the plague. Another got cholera. Several more were given AIDS and the swine flu.
And Muhammad Ali smiled all the while.
The world-renowned boxing legend, whose name in some surveys is more recognizable than those of Jesus Christ and Mahatma Ghandi, appeared Tuesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center as the spokesman for a bizarre and macabre fund-raising campaign.
Despite his battle with Parkinson's disease, "The Greatest" joined Salt Lake City manufacturer Carpediem International, to release a collection of neckties and boxer shorts to partially benefit the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The former world heavyweight champion, visibly shaking and unsteady of foot, still signed several autographs, silently joked with fans and wore a sly smile, obviously proud of his ability to cause a fuss.
"He's never been afraid to take on a fight, and now he's taking on the diseases that kill so many people," Carpediem President Thomas J. Kearl said. "So we're announcing that there's a new line of neckwear and boxer shorts, the Knockout Collection from Muhammad Ali."
But what make Ali's menswear special, or strange in the eyes of some who attended the press conference at a men's apparel convention, are the designs depicted on them: deadly disease microorganisms as art.
"These are actual microscopic images from the (CDC)," Kearl said, holding up a tie. "This happens to be the microscopic image of AIDS. I see over here on this gentleman the plague. I see back there cholera.
"We've taken the actual microscopic images and put them into the neckwear and created the best of all-time neckwear."
There were several winces in the room as Kearl called out the afflictions while in the same breath reminding the gathering of the fine craftsmanship.
Meanwhile, Ali stared and smiled, enveloped by his own affliction.
Since Ali was not permitted by Carpediem executives to answer questions -- even though his wife and spokesman of nine years, Loni, didn't object as reporters informally approached after the press conference -- Kearl was asked if hawking death ties, even for the sake of charity, was a bit gruesome. After all, Carpediem is making a profit, too.
"That's a tough question," Kearl said. "The toughness of it is disease is painful. It's often frightening.
"It's to create awareness and it's going to touch the life of every person who ever had to fight disease with their family.
"It's more than an ugly disease."
But aren't there other, less-morbid images that can be bought, sold, displayed, worn?
Kearl just pointed to Ali: "That's why we have the greatest of all time. The Signature Collection."
Signature Collection ties have a suggested retail of $35. The Knockout Collection has a suggested tag of $30. The boxers go for about $15.
It's unclear, however, how much money will go to the CDC. Kearl said 15 percent of the total sale would be donated. Vice president of sales Michael Howery claimed 5 to 10 percent of the gross would be donated, equating to about 50 percent of the net profit.
According to Howery, Ali's line will be available in major department stores "immediately."
"We've had the ties designed and ready to sell for six months, but we didn't want to introduce those without the right spokesman," Howery said, noting that Ali was the only pitchman his company considered.
"Muhammad Ali is the most recognized person on the planet," Kearl said. "No president, no king, no general has ever been so universally known or revered as this man before you. This man is a hero for literally hundreds and hundreds of millions of people worldwide."
Carpediem also owns a Rush Limbaugh line of ties. Within a month it plans to issue its Coaches Against Cancer line, which honors 15 NCAA basketball coaches, including UNLV's Bill Bayno, with portions of the money going to the American Cancer Institute.
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