One of the greatest photographers of all-time, Howard Bingham, has entered into a long-term licensing agreement with renowned sports and marketing agent Harlan J. Werner to handle his photo collection featuring Muhammad Ali, along with a huge range of powerful figures and celebrities, including Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Nelson Mandela, the Black Panthers and Elvis Presley.
Bingham’s unbelievable talent and work has been seen world-wide in books, magazines, television and museums and art galleries as he has followed world leaders, the top musicians, Hollywood royalty, pop culture and one of the most recognized sports figures in the world in Muhammad Ali. Bingham was one of Ali’s best friends for over 50 years and followed the champion throughout his career and traveling with him world-wide.
“Howard has a very historic collection of photos numbering in the millions and this is the first time he has decided to license and offer his work to the public,” said Werner, who did a lot of work for Ali and currently represents Joe Namath, Sandy Koufax and many other superstar athletes. “I appreciate the trust that Howard and Dustin Bingham have put in me and Sports Placement Services to represent this historic collection of work. The collection and totality of the work is mind boggling. It is truly one of the few untapped photo collections in the world. We hope in the next year to be able to start sharing this incredible collection with the world.”
Werner, who is a long-time sports memorabilia collector and dealer as well as co-owner of a national chain of retail movie memorabilia stores, is the founder of Sports Placement Service Inc., a sports licensing and marketing company that was established in 1985 to market and capitalize retired athletes. Werner has represented some of sports greatest athletes—Ali, Namath, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Koufax, John Riggins, Roy Campanella, Don Drysdale and Mike Tyson to name a few.
Werner is currently doing work for Koufax, Namath, Riggins, Fernando Valenzuela, Clayton Kershaw and Kershaw’s Challenge as well as the estate of Sonny Liston.
In addition to his personal knowledge of the memorabilia and autograph industry, Werner executive produced the movie “Tyson” and consulted on “One Night in Vegas” for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series.