John F.X. Condon

John F.X. Condon (August 29, 1914 – October 13, 1989) was an American public address announcer and boxing publicist best known for many years as the voice of Madison Square Garden.

Early life and education John Francis Xavier Condon was born August 29, 1914, in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.

Career In 1947, at a New York Knicks versus Boston Celtics game at Madison Square Garden, Condon was invited to audition for the public address role. For 42 seasons, he was the public address announcer at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks. He was known for his signature greeting, "Good evening, everybody. Welcome to Madison Square Garden," and announcing starting lineups at Knicks and college basketball games.

Beginning in 1960, he served as the director of publicity for Madison Square Garden Boxing, Inc. and promoted major events, notably the 1971 Fight of the Century.

In 1965, the Garden press agent was responsible for staging the retirement farewell of Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Robinson at Madison Square Garden. That year, he hired photographer George Kalinsky to take pre-publicity photos of championship fighters like Emile Griffith and Dick Tiger.

Condon personally notified Muhammad Ali of his Vietnam War draft status on March 15, 1967, shortly before his proposed fight with Ernie Terrell.

In a publicity stunt for the Garden's Frazier–Quarry fight, he set up a ring and band in Times Square, drawing 4,000 spectators and broad media attention.

While he announced countless Knicks playoff games, his iconic moment came in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals on May 8. Despite a torn muscle, NBA legend Willis Reed entered to cheers, and Condon introduced him with, "At center. Number 19. Captain. Willis Reed." The crowd roared for 28 seconds before Condon continued with the next starter.

By 1973, John Condon held the position of vice president of Madison Square Garden Boxing, Inc. By then, he had helped promote and present hundreds of boxing matches featuring Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, Floyd Patterson, Emile Griffith, "Sugar Ray" Robinson, and Gene Fullmer.

As the Garden's president for boxing, Condon organized the Kid Gloves Amateur Boxing Tournament that launched Mark Breland and Buddy McGirt as world champions. Sponsored by the New York chapter of the Metropolitan Amateur Boxing Federation and Madison Square Garden, the 11-bout tournament was created to give kids a chance to practice boxing in a safe and supervised setting.

Condon served as a matchmaker and commentator for fights broadcast on the Madison Square Garden Network for a while.

Condon cameoed as himself in the 1984 music video of Kurtis Blow's "Basketball".

He was succeeded by Mike Walczewski as the Knicks public address announcer in 1989, who has continued in this role to this day.

Death John F.X. Condon died at 75 years old on October 13, 1989, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan.