Madison Square Garden (1925)
Madison Square Garden III opened on the 15th of December, 1925, on a patch of Manhattan ground that had once held the city's trolley-car barns. Boxing promoter Tex Rickard had raised $4.75 million, assembled a group of backers he called his "600 millionaires," and put up a building in 349 days flat. The neighborhood called it "The House That Tex Built." Rickard's arena stood on Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets, a full city block west of the Madison Square district that gave its two predecessors their name. It was the first Garden to carry that famous name without actually being anywhere near Madison Square.
The building's exterior was a plain box, a deliberate contrast to the ornate towers of Stanford White's earlier design. What caught the eye was the marquee above the main entrance, covered in abbreviations: Tomw., V/S, Rgrs, Tonite, Thru. Even the arena's own name was shortened on its own signage to "Madison Sq. Garden." Inside, sight lines were poor, ventilation was worse, and cigarette smoke regularly fogged the upper levels. Yet for 43 years, nearly every major event in New York seemed to find its way through those doors.
What turned a boxy, smoke-filled arena into one of the most storied venues in American life? The answer lies in the range of moments it witnessed: a championship bout before 23,190 people, the first televised basketball game, pro-Nazi rallies and anti-Nazi rallies within months of each other, Marilyn Monroe singing for a president, and a 48-second wrestling match that made a legend.
Groundbreaking took place on the 9th of January, 1925, and the building was complete before the year was out. Thomas W. Lamb, who made his name designing theaters, was the architect. The speed of construction was remarkable, and the cost of $4.75 million was covered by the circle of wealthy backers Rickard had cultivated.
Rickard came to the project as a boxing promoter, and he made sure boxing was the arena's signature event. The first bout was held on the 11th of December, 1925, a week before the official opening. World light heavyweight champion Paul Berlenbach defended his title against challenger Jack Delaney before more than 22,000 fans. That crowd was not even the largest the Garden would see. On the 17th of January, 1941-23,190 people packed the building to watch Fritzie Zivic successfully defend the welterweight title against Henry Armstrong. That figure still stands as the largest crowd in the history of any of the four Gardens.
Rickard's influence extended beyond boxing. He also owned the New York Rangers, whose name was itself a quiet joke at his expense: "Tex's Rangers." The Rangers were founded in 1926 and played their first Garden game on the 16th of November that year. But the Rangers were not the building's first NHL tenants. The New York Americans had already opened the building in front of 17,000 fans by losing to the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1. Shorty Green of the Americans scored the first goal in the arena's history.
The New York Americans were so successful in their early years that Rickard grew envious and launched the Rangers as a rival team in the same building. Both clubs shared the Garden until 1942, when the Americans suspended operations because of World War II. By then, the Rangers had already eclipsed their roommates, winning three Stanley Cups between 1928 and 1940.
That 1940 Cup run became the seed of a peculiar legend. Manager General John Reed Kilpatrick reportedly burned the Garden's mortgage papers in the bowl of the Stanley Cup itself, using receipts from the championship run to pay off the debt. Hockey traditionalists believed the trophy had been "defiled," and a streak of Rangers misfortune followed. Another strand of the Curse of 1940 pointed to the Garden's refusal to let the Americans return after the war. Whether the cause was supernatural defiling or mere management decisions, the Rangers did not win another Stanley Cup until 1994.
The Garden's ice surfaces did not stop at the main rink. A second sheet occupied the fourth floor, serving as a public skating venue, a recreational hockey facility, and the Rangers' practice space. The Rangers' farm team, the New York Rovers, played Sunday afternoon games on the main ice. Their manager Tommy Lockhart filled those afternoon slots with on-ice promotions: model aircraft racing, bicycle races, figure skating by Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies and Sonja Henie, and at least one skating grizzly bear.
Nine days before the arena officially opened, on the 6th of December, 1925, the first professional basketball game in the building took place. The Original Celtics defeated the Washington Palace Five 35-31. That game, played in a half-finished arena, planted a flag for a sport that would define the venue for decades.
The New York Knicks made their debut there in 1946, though competing bookings in the arena pushed all of their home games during the 1951, 1952, and 1953 NBA Finals to the 69th Regiment Armory. The third Garden never hosted an NBA Finals game. It did host the NBA All-Star Game in 1954-1955, and again in 1968, that final one serving as a valedictory.
College basketball had its own landmark at the Garden. On the 28th of February, 1940, a Fordham-Pitt and Georgetown-NYU doubleheader became the first televised basketball games ever broadcast. The Garden hosted seven NCAA men's basketball championship finals between 1943 and 1950 and began hosting the National Invitation Tournament annually in 1938. A point-shaving scandal involving Garden games led the NCAA to pull back its events there, and City College of New York, which had won both the NCAA and NIT titles in 1950, was among the schools banned from playing in the building.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus arrived at the third Garden in 1926 and came back every spring for a roughly four-week engagement throughout the arena's entire life. Performances ran as often as three times daily. The circus was so embedded in the Garden's calendar that it outranked the building's own sports tenants.
When the circus was in residence, the Rangers and Knicks were displaced. The Knicks could usually find room at the 69th Regiment Armory nearby. The Rangers had no such convenient option and were sometimes forced to leave the city entirely, playing road games in other NHL cities when they advanced deep into the playoffs. Their first Stanley Cup championship in 1928 was played in full at the Montreal Forum because the Garden was occupied by the circus.
Among the acts the crowds came to see were wild animal trainer Clyde Beatty, who was a featured performer during the Garden's circus engagements in the early 1930s before returning to the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. The famous sad-faced clown Emmett Kelly appeared regularly, alongside Felix Adler and Lou Jacobs. Hundreds of thousands of fans attended each year.
The third Garden witnessed a concentrated string of politically charged events that no single American arena had hosted before or since. On the 15th of March, 1937, the American Jewish Congress and the Jewish Labor Committee held a massive boycott-Nazi-Germany rally. John L. Lewis of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia were among the speakers.
Less than two years later, on the 20th of February, 1939, a pro-Nazi organization called the German American Bund held a rally of 20,000 people in the same building. By December 1941, the federal government had outlawed the group. On the 9th of March, 1942, a memorial service called We Will Never Die was held for the two million Jews known by then to have been murdered in Axis-occupied Europe. Forty thousand people attended the two performances that day.
In October 1945, the American Zionist Emergency Council arranged a rally of at least 67,000 people, calling for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey spoke. A simultaneous march of between 150,000 and 250,000 people filled Madison Square Park outside. In 1957, evangelist Billy Graham ran a New York City mission at the Garden that ran nightly for 16 weeks. On the 17th of October, 1957, Hollywood producer Mike Todd held an anniversary party for his film Around the World in 80 Days, with Elizabeth Taylor as host and Marilyn Monroe arriving on an elephant. President John F. Kennedy's birthday celebration in May 1962 was held there, where Monroe sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President."
On the 3rd of November, 1960, Pennsylvania Railroad announced it had sold its air rights over Penn Station to the Madison Square Garden Corporation. The plan was to replace both the arena and the station. The Garden's management had actually begun seeking a replacement as early as 1946, troubled by poor sight lines and rising demand from the Knicks and Rangers. Demolition of Penn Station began in 1963, drawing fierce opposition over the loss of a landmark.
The new Garden was completed in 1968, with its first event held on the 12th of February. The third Garden had been scheduled to close the previous summer, but construction delays pushed the date forward. The final Knicks game in the old building was on the 10th of February, 1968, a 115-97 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The final Rangers game came the next night, ending in a 3-3 tie against the Detroit Red Wings. Jean Ratelle scored the last goal ever in the arena, with 19 minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the third period. After the game, veterans from across 43 years of Garden hockey, including New York Americans players Lorne Carr and Eddie Shore, skated on the ice in a farewell ceremony. Two days later, the Westminster Dog Show became the last event in the building.
Demolition began in the summer of 1968 and finished in early 1969. A proposal to build the world's tallest structure on the site set off a major conflict in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. The dispute ended with strict height restrictions for the area. The block sat as a parking lot until 1989, when Worldwide Plaza, designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, opened on the ground the old Garden had occupied.
Common questions
When was Madison Square Garden III built and how long did it take to construct?
Groundbreaking on Madison Square Garden III took place on the 9th of January, 1925, and the arena was completed in 349 days at a cost of $4.75 million. It was built by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who funded the project through a group of backers he called his "600 millionaires."
What was the largest crowd ever recorded at Madison Square Garden III?
The largest crowd in the history of any of the four Madison Square Gardens was 23,190 people, recorded on the 17th of January, 1941, for Fritzie Zivic's welterweight title defense against Henry Armstrong. That figure has never been surpassed at any subsequent Garden.
Who was the last player to score a goal at Madison Square Garden III?
Jean Ratelle scored the final goal in Madison Square Garden III on the 11th of February, 1968, during a 3-3 tie between the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings. The goal came with 19 minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the third period.
What was the first event held at the third Madison Square Garden?
The very first event at the third Madison Square Garden was a six-day bicycle race held from Sunday the 29th of November to Friday the 5th of December, 1925, weeks before the arena's official opening on the 15th of December.
How did the Ringling Bros. circus affect New York Rangers playoff schedules at MSG III?
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus held scheduling priority over all Garden events, including Rangers playoff games. When the circus was in residence each spring, the Rangers were displaced and sometimes forced to play in other NHL cities. The Rangers' first Stanley Cup championship in 1928 was played entirely at the Montreal Forum because the Garden was occupied by the circus.
What political rallies were held at Madison Square Garden III in the 1930s and 1940s?
MSG III hosted a major boycott-Nazi-Germany rally on the 15th of March, 1937, sponsored by the American Jewish Congress and the Jewish Labor Committee. In February 1939, the pro-Nazi German American Bund held a rally of 20,000 there. In March 1942, the memorial service We Will Never Die drew 40,000 attendees across two performances, honoring the two million Jews known to have been murdered in Axis-occupied Europe.
All sources
16 references cited across the entry
- 3newsCanadiens victors over New York in a colorful battleDecember 16, 1925
- 5citationNEW YORK CELTICS - Pro Basketball Encyclopedia2014-05-27
- 7webWrestling Observer Newsletter, February 3, 1997Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 14web"Rodeo", Richard Diamond, Private Detective, February 20, 1958Internet Movie Database