"The New Garden" replaced what became known as "The Old Garden," between 49th and 50th Streets, and between 8th and 9th Avenues. That building was soon demolished. A parking lot was on the site for many years, until the 778-foot Worldwide Plaza was built there, opening in 1989.
The NHL's New York Rangers had played at the Old Garden since their inception in 1926; the NBA's New York Knicks, since theirs in 1946. Both immediately moved into the New Garden, the 4th building with the name, which has now lasted longer than any of the others.
The Knicks' last game at the Old Garden was on February 10, a 115-97 win over the defending NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers, led by Wilt Chamberlain. The Rangers' last game at the Old Garden was the last event there, the next day, a 3-3 tie with Gordie Howe's Detroit Red Wings. The game was followed by several old-timers having a final skate.
The 1st Garden was just off Madison Square, on the northeast corner of 26th Street and Madison Avenue. It opened in 1879. In 1891, it was replaced by the 2nd Garden. New York Life Insurance Company held the mortgage on the property, and decided it wanted it for their new headquarters.
Boxing promoter George "Tex" Rickard -- the hockey team he wanted to run was nicknamed "Tex's Rangers" for him by the press, and he stuck with it -- took the opportunity to build a Garden that he would own, and that was the Old Garden, which opened on November 28, 1925, and the New York Life Building opened in 1928 on the site of the predecessor, and still stands.
Major renovations of the Garden would be undertaken in the early 1990s, removing the old red, white and blue seat-color scheme (the top, 400 level being known as the Blue Seats also for the air turning blue with cigarette smoke and "blue language"), replacing them with aquamarine and purple; and again in the early 2010s, a process called "The Garden Transformed," making for all dark green seats, raising basketball seating capacity from the traditional 19,763 to 19,812, but lowering the hockey seating capacity from 18,200 to 18,006.
The New Garden opened with "The Night of the Century," a salute to the USO, the United Service Organizations, which since 1941 has worked with the armed forces to provide supplies and entertainment. The co-hosts were old film partners and golfing buddies Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.
Bob Hope, Mayor John Lindsay, Bing Crosby
Also opening on this day is the Felt Forum, a smaller, 5,500-seat arena at The Garden's west, 8th Avenue end, with a separate entrance from the main building. This theater hosted fights and concerts not big enough for the main arena, and, for a few years, the NFL Draft.
It was named for Irving Mitchell Felt, who in 1962 had transformed the Graham-Paige Motors Corporation into the Madison Square Garden Corporation, demolished the old Penn Station, and built the Pennsylvania Plaza complex that includes the "new" Penn Station and the "new" Garden.
In 1977, Felt was bought out by Gulf and Western Industries. In 1989, G&W was bought out by Paramount Communications. In 1994, Cablevision, owned by Charles Dolan and his son James, bought the MSG Corporation. (I've often said that the Knicks, or the Rangers, are just one man away from being serious title contenders, but that one man is James Dolan, as Charles gives him free rein.)
The Felt Forum was given the name The Paramount Theater in 1991. For 6 years, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, and the Paramount Theater, all New York legends at their original locations, were in the same complex.
The former Felt Forum was renamed The Theater at Madison Square Garden in 1997. In 2007, Washington Mutual (who bought out the Dime Savings Bank of New York in 2002) bought the naming rights, and it became the WaMu Theater. But WaMu went bust in the Crash of 2008, and in 2009, the Felt Forum was again named The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In 2018, it was renamed the Hulu Theater.
It was named for Irving Mitchell Felt, who in 1962 had transformed the Graham-Paige Motors Corporation into the Madison Square Garden Corporation, demolished the old Penn Station, and built the Pennsylvania Plaza complex that includes the "new" Penn Station and the "new" Garden.
In 1977, Felt was bought out by Gulf and Western Industries. In 1989, G&W was bought out by Paramount Communications. In 1994, Cablevision, owned by Charles Dolan and his son James, bought the MSG Corporation. (I've often said that the Knicks, or the Rangers, are just one man away from being serious title contenders, but that one man is James Dolan, as Charles gives him free rein.)
The Felt Forum was given the name The Paramount Theater in 1991. For 6 years, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, and the Paramount Theater, all New York legends at their original locations, were in the same complex.
The former Felt Forum was renamed The Theater at Madison Square Garden in 1997. In 2007, Washington Mutual (who bought out the Dime Savings Bank of New York in 2002) bought the naming rights, and it became the WaMu Theater. But WaMu went bust in the Crash of 2008, and in 2009, the Felt Forum was again named The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In 2018, it was renamed the Hulu Theater.
WaMu was bought out by JPMorgan Chase, itself a merger of several companies: The Bank of Manhattan bought Chase National Bank in 1955, forming Chase Manhattan; Chemical Bank bought Manufacturer's Hanover Trust in 1991, and bought Chase Manhattan in 1996, but kept Chase's more familiar name; and merged with J.P. Morgan's old company in 2000.
The 1st basketball game at the New Garden was played on February 14. The 1st basket was scored by Dave DeBusschere. But not for the Knicks! Double D hadn't yet been acquired, and, even in the early days of the New Garden, the company running the arena would host basketball doubleheaders, college and pro alike.
DeBusschere's Detroit Pistons lost to the Boston Celtics, with Bill Russell playing and coaching, 118-96. In the nightcap, the Knicks defeated the San Diego Rockets 114-102.
The Rangers played their 1st game at the New Garden on February 18. They also played an expansion team, the Philadelphia Flyers, and won 3-1.
On October 15, 1969, a day that featured a big demonstration against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C., and the Mets winning Game 4 of the World Series thanks to Ron Swoboda's catch and the J.C. Martin play, the Rangers beat the Minnesota North Stars 4-3. It was the dawn of cable television, and this becomes the 1st event to be broadcast on the Madison Square Garden Network, or just "MSG" as it's been officially known since 2006. It is the 1st regional sports network in America.
In addition to the Knicks, the Rangers, and eventually the Islanders, the Devils and the MetroStars/Red Bulls, from 1989 to 2001 they held the Yankees' cable-TV rights, until the Yankees let the contract run out and formed the YES Network.
In addition to the Knicks, the Rangers, and eventually the Islanders, the Devils and the MetroStars/Red Bulls, from 1989 to 2001 they held the Yankees' cable-TV rights, until the Yankees let the contract run out and formed the YES Network.
On May 8, 1970, Knicks Captain Willis Reed, a doubt due to an injury suffered in Game 5, limped onto the court for the pregame shootaround before Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It not only lifted the Knicks up, but deflated the Los Angeles Lakers. The game began, and Willis hit 2 baskets. They were the only shots he took all game. They were the only shots he needed.
Walt "Clyde" Frazier had his best game, but it's remembered as The Willis Reed Game. Despite having 3 of the greatest players ever in Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, the Knicks of Reed, Frazier, DeBusschere, Bill Bradley and Dick Barnett, coached by Red Holzman, won 113-99.
The Knicks had won their 1st World Championship, after 24 years of trying, including some agonizing close calls. This capped a 16-month stretch that also included the Jets' Super Bowl upset and the Mets' World Series "miracle." It remains the greatest day in the history of Madison Square Garden, in any building under that name.
They would win the title again in 1973, again over the Lakers, but clinched in Los Angeles. Well, in Inglewood. The Knicks would lose the Finals in 1972 (the Lakers clinching in Inglewood), 1994 (the Rockets clinching in Houston) and 1999 (the San Antonio Spurs clinching at The Garden).
May 20 to June 30, 1994 was the month (and change) for The Garden. It had already hosted the only Playoff win the Knicks have ever had over the Chicago Bulls (during Michael Jordan's hiatus), Ranger Captain Mark Messier's guarantee of a Game 6 win over the New Jersey Devils, and the Stephane Matteau goal in double overtime that won Game 7.
Now, it was time for the Stanley Cup Finals, the Rangers' 1st such berth in 15 years, on May 31, and on June 2, 9 and 14 -- the last of these being the Rangers' 1st Stanley Cup clincher in 54 years, and their 1st ever on home ice. (They won in Montreal in 1928, and in Toronto in 1933 and 1940.)
The Knicks took a 3-games-to-2 lead by winning Game 5 on June 17, as NBC went to a split-screen to show the game and the O.J. Simpson "Bronco Chase." And on June 20, 23, 26, 28 & 30, Brooklyn native Barbra Streisand came home to do some concerts, in spite of her legendary stage fright. She did 2 more on July 10 and 12.
The Rangers have also made the Stanley Cup Finals in 1972 (losing to the Boston Bruins, who clinched at MSG, not the Boston Garden), 1979 (losing away to the Montreal Canadiens) and 2014 (losing away to the Los Angeles Kings).
The nickname "The Mecca of Boxing" carried over from the Old Garden. On March 8, 1971, for the only time in history, two undefeated Heavyweight Champions of the World went at it: Official champion Joe Frazier, and defrocked champion Muhammad Ali. Like many others, it was billed as The Fight of the Century. It was also called The Super Fight. It was also called simply The Fight.
Most of the fight was even. But as it went on, Ali's rustiness began to show. In the 15th and final scheduled round, Frazier's famed left hook knocked Ali down. He got right back up, but it was too late: The knockdown was enough to give Frazier a unanimous decision, and the undisputed title.
They would fight twice more, in a non-title bout at The Garden in 1974 (Frazier had been beaten by George Foreman, whom Ali then beat to regain the title), and in the Philippines in 1975, a fight known as The Thrilla in Manila. Ali won both.
Other major fights at the New Garden have included Roberto Durán's 1983 "redemption fight, winning the Super Welterweight Championship by knocking out Davey Moore; the intended Heavyweight Championship unification fight in 1999 between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, which was controversially ruled a draw; the 1st big event at The Garden after the 9/11 attacks, a unification fight for the Middleweight Championship, with Bernard Hopkins knocking out the previously undefeated Félix Trinidad; and, in fiction, the fight in Rocky III in which Rocky Balboa reclaims the Heavyweight Championship from Clubber Lang.
The new Garden hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1976 (nominating Jimmy Carter for President), 1980 (Carter again) and 1992 (Bill Clinton); and the Republican National Convention in 2004 (George W. Bush). Masses were delivered by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1979; and Pope Francis on September 25, 2015.
The 1st major rock concert at the new Garden was on January 24, 1969: The Doors, with The Staple Singers as the opening act.
The Beatles had already stopped touring by the time the new Garden opened, and they never played the old Garden. George Harrison hosted the Concert for Bangladesh on August 1, 1971, with fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton appearing. John Lennon hosted the One-to-One Concert on August 30, 1972, a benefit for children with developmental disabilities; and, in what turned out to be his final concert appearance, sat in with Elton John for 3 songs on Thanksgiving Night, November 28, 1974.
Promoter Richard Nader essentially invented the oldies circuit, hosting "Rock 'n Roll Revival" shows. The one he hosted on October 15, 1971 was billed as "The Garden Party." This helped to kickstart the nostalgia wave for the 1950s and the early 1960s, as the generation that came of age during the Vietnam War wanted to think back to what seemed like a simpler time. (It wasn't.)
Among the performers were Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Bobby Rydell and Ricky Nelson. Except Nelson not only insisted, as he had for years, upon being introduced as "Rick Nelson," but came out with long hair, a purple velvet shirt, and bell-bottom jeans. While he played his old hits, he played new ones, too, and the fans booed. It wasn't until afterward that Nader told Nelson that the audience didn't want current music from anyone at his "oldies shows." Nelson wrote the song "Garden Party" about the experience.
On September 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23, 1979, the Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) concerts were held, a.k.a. "The No Nukes Concert." The Concert for New York City was held on October 22, 2001. to raise money for 9/11 victims and their survivors. The Big Apple to the Big Easy concert was held on September 20, 2005, to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. And on December 12, 2012, the 12-12-12 Concert was held to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy in and around New York. Tribute concerts were held for Bob Dylan in 1992 and Michael Jackson in 2001 -- the latter turning out to be his last concert appearance.
No matter how big the performer, their Madison Square Garden concert debut is a big deal:
* 1969: Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, June Carter and Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin.
* 1970: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Led Zeppelin, the Jackson 5. 1972: Elvis Presley. 1973: Neil Young. 1974: The Who, David Bowie, and Frank Sinatra for the TV special The Main Event. 1975: Aerosmith, The Eagles, Chaka Khan. 1976: Paul McCartney with Wings; Peter Frampton. 1977: Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart. 1978: Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen. 1979: The Grateful Dead.
* 1980: Billy Joel. He also played the Millennium Eve concert there in 1999. In 2014, he became the Garden's 1st musical "franchise," and has now played it over 100 times. While it's probably not true, it would eventually seem like there have been years when Billy has sold the building out more time than the Knicks or the Rangers.
* 1981: AC/DC. 1985: Madonna, Tina Turner. 1986: Neil Diamond, Prince. 1987: U2. 1989: R.E.M.
* 1991: Whitney Houston, Guns N' Roses. 1993: Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson. 1995: Phish, performing the 1st of several New Year's Eve shows they would play there. 1997: Celine Dion. 1998: The Spice Girls. 1999: Cher.
* 2001: Destiny's Child, including Beyoncé; Alicia Keys. Both part of the Concert for New York City. 2002: Avril Lavigne. 2006: Shakira. 2009: Britney Spears, Taylor Swift.
* 2010: Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Justin Bieber. 2011: Katy Perry. 2013: Pink. 2015: Ariana Grande. 2016: Drake, Future, Halsey, Adele, Carrie Underwood.
"The World's Most Famous Arena is 54 years old. It is easily the oldest sports facility currently used by any of the major league teams in the New York Tri-State Area. The next-oldest is, shockingly, the Prudential Center in Newark, and that building isn't even 15 years old yet.
The Garden is also the oldest active arena in the NBA and the NHL, and it's not even be close: The next-oldest arena in the NBA is the Target Center in Minneapolis (1990); and the next-oldest in the NHL is the Saddledome in Calgary.
The future of Madison Square Garden is up in the air -- and that's not a joke about "air rights." The City of New York and the State of New York have deplored the 1968 version of Penn Station from the beginning, and would like to develop a new version, and the Garden building and the Garden Corporation are seen as obstructions to their goal.
The current Garden lease runs through the 2022-23 season. As we have seen, it takes a long time to get a new sports venue built in and around New York. An extension will probably be negotiated -- knowing New York City and James Dolan, probably at the last minute. Don't expect the Knicks and Rangers to leave Garden IV for Garde V before the mid-2030s.
One way or another, Madison Square Garden will continue as a New York institution, as it has since 1879, and at its current facility for half a century.
*
February 11, 1968 was a Sunday. Baseball and football were out of season. The Knicks were idle, but there were 4 games played in the NBA that day:
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics, 141-104 at the Boston Garden. Of course, the Celtics would beat the Lakers when it mattered, in the NBA Finals.
* The Baltimore Bullets beat the San Diego Rockets, 136-116 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena). Gus Johnson scored 44 points for the Bullets.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the St. Louis Hawks, 119-93 at... the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, a neutral site game.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the San Francisco Warriors, 146-118 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
There were 4 games played in the American Basketball Association, which was in its 1st season:
* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Indiana Pacers, 103-90 at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
* The New Orleans Buccaneers beat the Denver Rockets, 98-90 at the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. In 1971, the NBA's San Diego Rockets moved to Houston. In 1974, in anticipation of being accepted into the NBA, the Denver team changed its name to the Nuggets.
* The Minnesota Muskies beat the Dallas Chaparrals, 121-119 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
* And the Houston Mavericks beat the Oakland Oaks, 127-117 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
As I said, the New York Rangers closed out the old Madison Square Garden that day, with a 3-3 tie against the Detroit Red Wings. There were 4 other games played in the NHL:
* The Boston Bruins played the St. Louis Blues to a tie, 3-3 at the Boston Garden.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 6-0 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Minnesota North Stars 3-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
* The Oakland Seals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Yes, that building and the Boston Garden both hosted pro basketball and hockey on the same day.
* And the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings were not scheduled.
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