For the second time in a week I am dedicating Today in NYC History to the team of my youth, the New York Knickerbockers. The franchise was going through one of its frequent dreary spells when it hit the lottery jackpot on May 12, 1985, winning the rights to draft Georgetown star Patrick Ewing. During…
Fans of the woeful New York Knickerbockers haven’t had a lot to cheer for in recent years, or ever. But on May 8, 1970, an electric Madison Square Garden crowd saw the Knicks crush the Los Angeles Lakers to bring home their first NBA championship. Coached by New York native Red Holzman, the Knicks resembled the…
There has been a lot of upsetting news the last couple of days. New Yorkers have shown resilience in the face of adversity before, one example being their defiant rally against Nazism on March 27, 1933, following the elevation of Adolf Hitler to Reich Chancellor on January 30, 1933. In the weeks following the Nazi Party’s…
On March 8, 1971, Muhammad Ali battled Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in one of the most highly anticipated showdowns in sports history. Billed as “The Fight of the Century,” it promised to be a clash of styles, a clash of cultures, a clash of two legendary champions who had been kept apart due…
