DS, six pages, 8.5 x 14, December 1965. Articles of Incorporation for Tone-O-Matic, Inc., whose nature of the business “shall be to engage in general in the national and international representations, sales and distributions of manufactured or natural products of any and all natures or descriptions, and to act as principal agent for all suppliers or sources of such products as may be of concern or interest to the corporation.” Signed on the final page in black ink by Marciano and his partners Paul Blanda and Stanley Palmer. In fine condition, with a light vertical crease through a single letter of signature, some light creases, and a staple to top left.
Tone-o-Matic, Inc. was a manufacturer of exercise gear, and in 1965 there were few people better equipped to promote such a product than Mariano, who at the time was boxing’s most successful heavyweight champion of all time, with an unmatched record of 49 fights and 49 wins. While certain circles were clamoring for Marciano to step back into the ring for a bout against a young fighter named Cassius Clay, the then-retired champ repeatedly declined, even going so far as to opine that fighting should be banned. Marciano was killed in a 1969 plane crash on the eve of his 46th birthday. Pre-certified Steve Grad/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
