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The Man Behind the Microphone at the ‘Old’ Garden
BY BERNIE BEGLANE
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Madison Square Garden, the world’s most famous arena.”
Sound familiar?
That was the greeting extended by the late John F. X. Condon, the voice of the ‘old’ Garden at 49th St. and Eighth Ave.
When we mention ‘old’, we are referring to 1947, 21 years prior to relocating at its present site above Penn Station.
The New York Knicks made their way onto the scene the previous year as a member of the Basketball Association of America, the forerunner to the current NBA.
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John Condon |
In addition to playing at the Garden, the Knicks also used the 69th Regiment Armory (25th St. and Lexington Ave.) as a home court.
So through the years, fans viewing the action on television or listening to it on radio, grew to become fans of John whom we regarded as a close personal friend.
And while Condon was the man behind the microphone at MSG, he branched into boxing.
At different times, John was the PR director, vice-president and matchmaker and president of Madison Square Garden Boxing.
For a time, also, he served as the blow-by-blow commentator on the Garden’s cablevision network.
All of this while being the New York Athletic Club’s PR director and the sports publicist (on a part-time basis) for both Adelphi University and Iona College.
And in 1976 for the Olympic Games in Montreal, he was the Director of Press Operations for the U.S.
John, and his wife, Viola (also deceased), never had children of their own, but he had a great love for them.
So much so that when president of Madison Square Garden Boxing, he founded New York’s Kid Gloves.
It was his way to reach inner-city kids and get them off the streets for nine weeks each summer.
Mike Tyson, Mark Breland and Hector Comacho all went through Kid Gloves.
As a symbol of his outstanding achievements, the current press room at the Garden is named in his honor.
As is the John F. X. Condon Award presented annually by the Professional Boxing Writers Association to its top writer.
At one time Condon, who resided in Most Precious Blood, Long Island City, was asked about his success.
To which he responded, “Publicists have the ability to wield a great deal of influence with both the media and the client.
“That does not differ with the market size or the interest in the sport or product.
Remembering that publicity has the ability to help tell stories and influence public opinion is always important.”
Basketball and boxing were not the only areas of John’s expertise. In the late 1960s, he was the color commentator for the New York Giants football games.
Plus he did pre-game and post-game shows not only for the Giants but also the New York Yankees.
It is ironic how Condon’s career was launched. While attending a game between the Boston Celtics and the Knicks, he was asked to try out for the public address position.
As they say, the rest is history as he never left the table until becoming ill.
We must add another insight about our friend that goes back to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
As a sportswriter for the now-defunct Long Island Press, we traveled to many events with my now-deceased wife, Catherine, a nurse out of St. Mary’s Hospital, Brooklyn, and a loyal Brooklyn Dodger fan, and our four children.
In 1972, we were all together in Heidelberg, Germany, for the Paralympics (for the handicapped). I stayed on for the Olympics in Munich, promising one and all that we would see the Olympics together four years later in Montreal.
Knowing this, John asked me for one of the boys to work with him as a runner and Brian took the assignment.
Edward, the oldest, was hired as a copy boy to work for Associated Press.
Experiences that they have never forgotten!
Forest Hills Mermaids Win
The TRI-M girls CYO swim team were victorious at the CYO Girls Olympics, April 5, at the Eisenhower Aquatics Center. The TRI-M Girls won five gold, three silver and four bronze medals. Bantams Christine Codd, Kylie Chow, Monica Stefandl and Olivia Santos displayed excellent team effort in their record-breaking 100-yd freestyle relay. Keara Leong swam a record-breaking 50-yd butterfly.
On April 6, the TRI-M Girls won their sixth consecutive diocesan championship amassing 455 points, followed by St. Sebastian, Woodside, with 385 points.
TRI-M represents Our Lady of Mercy and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Forest Hills.
The head coach is Mary Leong, assisted by Alex Leong, Melissa Santos, Carolyn McNulty and Amy Martinez.
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