Events at Madison Square Garden

Throughout its long history, Madison Square Garden has been involved in its share of historical events. These events have included famous political rallies, concerts, musicals and sporting events.

Notable firsts

• February 12, 1879 - The first artificial ice rink in North America opens at the Garden.
• August 1898 - Nikola Tesla demonstrated the first remote controlled robot using radio control.
• 1902 - The first indoor professional American football game is played. The World Series of Pro Football, as it was called, was the first attempt at professional American football championship games.
• 1934 - The first college basketball game at the Garden is played, between the University of Notre Dame and New York University.
• February 28, 1940 - Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh).
• March 19, 1954 - Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at the Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.
• February 8, 10, 11, 1979 - The Challenge Cup, a three-game series between the All-Stars of the National Hockey League and the Soviet National Team took place at the Garden. The Soviets won, two games to one.
• November 1, 1980 -The first Women's World Judo Championship was held at the Gardens, Jane Bridge (UK) won the gold medal at under 48 kg
• January 23, 1984 - Hulk Hogan wins the World Wrestling Federation Championship from The Iron Sheik in five minutes, 40 seconds. The victory kicks off the pop culture movement known as Hulkamania, and ushers in a golden age for the business of professional wrestling.
• March 31, 1985 - The World Wrestling Federation (WWF, today known as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE), presents the inaugural WrestleMania. The annual event would return to Madison Square Garden in 1994 and 2004 for WrestleMania X and WrestleMania XX, celebrating the 10th and 20th anniversaries of WrestleMania.
• August 29, 1988 - The WWF presents the first SummerSlam event. The annual events would return to Madison Square Garden in 1991 and 1998.
• June 14, 1994 - The New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup at Madison Square Garden. It is the first time that a Stanley Cup has been won by the Rangers at the Garden.
• October 1995 - Jacky Cheung, Hong Kong singer and the best selling Asian artist in the mid-1990s, is the first Asian artist to perform at the Paramount, Madison Square Garden. His two-show performance in October 1995 is part of his 100-show world tour that year.
• June 29, 1997 - The New York Liberty professional women's basketball team plays its first home game - the first WNBA game to be played at Madison Square Garden.^[1]
• March 1, 2003 - Quinnipiac University defeats the University of Connecticut 4-3 in the first college hockey game played at Madison Square Garden since 1977.
• July 13 & 15, 2007 - Popular Boston-based indie band Dispatch sold out MSG for three nights in a row and became the first independent band to either headline or sell out MSG.
• On March 17–19, 2016, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were held for the first time at MSG.
• October 21, 2016 - The semifinals of the 2016 League of Legends World Championship were held for the first time at MSG.
• November 12, 2016 - UFC 205 is the first UFC event held in NYC. Broke MSG gate record and Conor McGregor became the first fighter in UFC history to hold 2 world titles in different weight classes simultaneously by defeating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title.^[2]

Entertainment

Main article: Entertainment events at Madison Square Garden

Political and social events

• The 1924, 1976, 1980, and 1992 Democratic National Conventions were held at MSG.
• On October 31, 1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his last speech before that year's presidential election. In it, he criticized the interests who opposed the New Deal, stating, "I welcome their hatred."
• On February 20, 1939, A large German American Bund convention was held prompting riots and protests in and around the arena by American Jews and others.
• Former Republican Party presidential candidate Wendell Willkie led 20,000 African Americans on June 7, 1943, the largest Civil Rights rally of its time, in calling for equal rights and for victory in the war against Hitler.
• On January 10, 1944, the Daily Worker, newspaper of the Communist Party USA, held an event at the Garden to mark its 20th anniversary.
• President John F. Kennedy's 45th birthday celebration took place at the Garden on May 19, 1962. During it, Marilyn Monroe sang her now infamous Happy Birthday, Mr. President.
• On July 1, 1982 Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon held a Blessing Ceremony in the Garden for 2075 couples. This event attracted much public and media attention (including a story in Life), often being called a "mass wedding."
• The 2004 Republican National Convention at MSG marked the first time that the Republican party held their convention in New York City.
• On September 28, 2014, The prime minister of India, Mr.Narendra Modi addressed congregation organised by NRIs inhabiting in USA.
• The Garden was the site for a Catholic Mass said by Pope Francis during his first visit to New York City and the United States as Pontiff on September 25, 2015.

Boxing

Madison Square Garden was one of the primary centers of the boxing universe throughout its history and in all of its incarnations before Las Vegas became the sport's main center starting in the 1980s. However, MSG still hosts many significant fights. Some of the historic fights held at MSG have been:

• October 26, 1951 — Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Louis
  • The unbeaten Marciano, who would become heavyweight champion the following year, knocked out a clearly past-his-prime Louis in the 8th round. After the loss, Louis retired for the second time, this time for good.
• Two of the three Ali–Frazier fights:
  • March 8, 1971 — Fight of the Century
    • One of the most hyped fights in history, with both heavyweight champion Frazier and challenger Ali entering unbeaten. Frazier won by unanimous decision.
  • January 28, 1974 — Ali-Frazier II
    • Ali avenges his loss to Frazier, also by unanimous decision.
• June 13, 1986 — Hector Camacho vs. Edwin Rosario
  • A classic showdown between Puerto Rican stars Héctor Camacho and Edwin Rosario for Camacho's lightweight title, with Camacho retaining his title by a controversial split decision.
• September 29, 2001 — The final bout of the Middleweight World Championship Series, in which Bernard Hopkins defeated Félix Trinidad by 12th-round TKO to claim the undisputed title.
• October 2, 2004 — Trinidad vs. Mayorga
  • Trinidad returned from a two-year layoff and defeated Ricardo Mayorga by TKO in the 8th round.
• November 8, 2008 — Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones, Jr.
  • In what proved to be his last professional bout, the unbeaten Joe Calzaghe won a unanimous decision over Roy Jones, Jr..

References

Coordinates: 40°45′1.75″N 73°59′36.77″W / 40.7504861°N 73.9935472°W / 40.7504861; -73.9935472