Knicks Nostalgia

 

Everyone is talking about 1973, the last time the Knicks won an NBA championship. But what about the first championship? That was even more of a landmark. From 1969 to 1973, Ann and I followed the Knicks intensely, going to games whenever we could. To us, 1970 was the greatest year of all: their first championship and a playoff series never to be forgotten, with Willis Reed squaring off against Wilt Chamberlain and the Finals going the full seven games.

 

I don't follow professional basketball that closely anymore. Three-pointers galore, replay challenges on the floor, strobe lights and music introducing the players, even the constantly changing uniform styles (hate the knee length shorts). Give me old-time basketball, even a set shot here and there or some underhand foul shooting. Maybe today's teams would wipe the floor with those of yesteryear, but the games of my youth were played with pure heart.

 

Victor Wembanyama's 7'4", 235-pound frame, to me, though, pales beside Chamberlain's 7'1", 280 pounds. Imagine Reed trying to box Chamberlain out at 6'11". Yet Reed more than held his own in the series until he tore a thigh muscle and missed Game 6, allowing Chamberlain to erupt for 45 points and 27 rebounds. Reed's courageous appearance in the opening minutes of Game 7, despite the injury, helped inspire the Knicks to their first championship. His symbolic presence seemed to galvanize the entire team.

 

But I'm getting into details that could go on forever. This entry is pure nostalgia. As I wrote in an earlier blog post, we were married in 1970, on the eve of those historic playoffs:

 

"The ceremony itself was what one would expect from a humanist minister. A substantial part of the service captured our enthusiasm for the then victorious New York Knicks, with names such as Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, and Willis Reed sprinkled throughout our wedding vows."

So for me, this feels a little like Halley's Comet arriving ahead of schedule. We were married 56 years ago when the Knicks won their first NBA championship, and now, on the eve of another possible championship, those memories come flooding back. The fact that the occasion may be sullied by the attendance of a man whose presence tends to make every event about himself will not sit well with many Knicks fans.

 

So from many years ago, I present the opening pages of a 1970–71 Knicks program, probably from the last game I attended in person. It captures much of the excitement of those years, and I'm glad I held on to it all this time.