List of Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame Inductees

Last updated

The Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame (MSG Walk of Fame) was established in 1992 "to recognize athletes, artists, announcers and coaches for their extraordinary achievements and memorable performances at the venue." [1] Twenty-five athletes were inducted into the MSG Walk of Fame at its inaugural ceremony in 1992, a black-tie dinner to raise money to fight multiple sclerosis. [2]

Contents

MSG Walk of Fame "Firsts"

Tennis standouts Chris Evert, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova were all inducted on the same day in 1993, and were the first female inductees. [3] Other "firsts" in the MSG Walk of Fame include Elton John (1992), first entertainer; [4] [5] Marv Albert (1996), first sportscaster; [6] Rolling Stones (1998), first band;. [7] and Scott Hamilton (1998), first figure skater. [8]

List of Inductees

MSG Walk of Fame Inductees
NameDate Inducted
(yyyy-mm-dd)
CategoryRefComment
FirstLast
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1992-09-15sport: basketball [2]
Muhammad Ali 1992-09-15sport: boxing [9]
Larry Bird 1992-09-15sport: basketball [2]
Bill Bradley 1992-09-15sport: basketball [2]
Wilt Chamberlain 1992-09-15sport: basketball [9]
Bob Cousy 1992-09-15sport: basketball [9]
Glenn Cunningham 1992-09-15sport: track [2]
Jack Dempsey 1992-09-15sport: boxing [2]
Wayne Gretzky 1992-09-15sport: hockey [2]
Nat Holman 1992-09-15sport: basketball, coach [2]
Red Holzman 1992-09-15sport: basketball, coach [2]
Gordie Howe 1992-09-15sport: hockey [9]
Michael Jordan 1992-09-15sport: basketball [2]
Joe Lapchick 1992-09-15sport: basketball, coach [2]
Rod Laver 1992-09-15sport: tennis [2]
Joe Louis 1992-09-15sport: boxing [2]
Rocky Marciano 1992-09-15sport: boxing [2]
George Mikan 1992-09-15sport: basketball [2]
Bobby Orr 1992-09-15sport: hockey [2]
Jesse Owens 1992-09-15sport: track [2]
Willis Reed 1992-09-15sport: basketball [2]
Maurice Richard 1992-09-15sport: hockey [2]
Oscar Robertson 1992-09-15sport: basketball [2] For his college career.
Sugar Ray Robinson 1992-09-15sport: boxing [2]
Bill Russell 1992-09-15sport: basketball [2]
Elton John 1992-10-10entertainment: music [4] [10] [11] John was the first entertainer to be inducted, for "his many memorable appearances there". [4]
Chris Evert 1993-08-30sport: tennis [3] [12] Evert, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King were the first women inducted into the MSG Walk of Fame.
Billie Jean King 1993-08-30sport: tennis [3] King, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert were the first three women to be inducted into the MSG Walk of Fame.
Martina Navratilova 1993-08-30sport: tennis [3] Navratilova, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King were the first three women to be inducted into the MSG Walk of Fame.
Billy Joel 1993-10-8entertainment: music [13] 2nd entertainer and 30th person to be inducted.
Marv Albert 1996-10-29sportscaster [14] First sportscaster inducted. [6]
Lou Carnesecca 1996-10-29sport: basketball, coach [14]
Oscar De La Hoya 1996-10-29sport: boxing [14]
Patrick Ewing 1996-10-29sport: basketball [14]
Joe Frazier 1996-10-29sport: boxing [14] [15]
Walt Frazier 1996-10-29sport: basketball [14] [15]
Rod Gilbert 1996-10-29sport: hockey [14] [15]
Steffi Graf 1996-10-29sport: tennis [14] [16]
Jackie Joyner-Kersee 1996-10-29sport: track [14]
Carl Lewis 1996-10-29sport: track [14]
John McEnroe 1996-10-29sport: tennis [14] [15]
Mark Messier 1996-10-29sport: hockey [14] [15]
Dave DeBusschere 1997-10-21sport: basketball [17]
Phil Esposito 1997-10-21sport: hockey [17]
Rolling Stones 1998-01-17entertainment: music [18] First band to be inducted. [7]
Scott Hamilton 1998-03-14sport: figure skating [8] [19] First figure skater to be inducted.
Carol Blazejowski 2003-09-18sport: basketball [20] Inducted for scoring 52 points in a single game in 1977, before the era of 3-point baskets. [21]
Harry Howell 2003-09-18sport: hockey [22]
Dick McGuire 2003-09-18sport: basketball [22]
Vince McMahon 2003-09-18sport: wrestling [22]
Bob Wolff 2003-09-18sportscaster [22] [23]
George Harrison 2006-08-01entertainment: music [24] For the 35th anniversary of his ‘Concert for Bangladesh’, which raised over $15 million for UNICEF.
Teresa Weatherspoon 2006-08-05sport: basketball [25] [26]
Harry Gallatin 2015-05-11sport: basketball [27] [28]
Eddie Giacomin 2015-05-11sport: hockey [1] [26]
Grateful Dead 2015-05-11entertainment: music [29] [1] The Grateful Dead were to have been inducted in the 1990s, but the induction was postponed due to the death of the band's lead guitarist and singer, Jerry Garcia. [30]
George Kalinsky 2015-05-11MSG: official photographer [1] [26]

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