Very cool! I saw a game in the old Garden as well so you know I'm up there.
It was so long ago (I was in the cradle) that it was part of a doubleheader the NBA had occasionally involving 4 teams, it was in the OLD Madison Square Garden, the Knicks were in the other game and their fans were merciless to Tommy. Not only that, to really date myself, beer-belly set shooting old Clyde Lovelette was a Celtic end of bencher who entered the game late and promptly drained a 20 footer. The crowd went wild.
Very much OT, but fun memories... however, someone needs to point out that "beer-belly, set-shooting old Clyde Lovelette" was one of the all-time best players. At 6'9", he was a collegiate NPOY and NCAA MOP for Kansas when it won a national title, was the big scorer for the U.S.'s gold-medal winning team in '52, and was a key player for Lakers and Celtics title teams in the NBA. He averaged 17 ppg and 9 rebounds in the NBA over his 13-year career.
Cohenzone, you happened to catch Clyde when all those beers had caught up with him, but I remember watching him play in the late '50s. He was outstanding and, yes, perhaps remembered best for being one of the first big men to shoot from the perimeter.
As for the old MSG, other than seeing circuses there, my only experience was a special one, seeing Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar making his much-heralded return to NYC as a sophomore for UCLA in the old Holiday Festival. The Bruins were defending national champs and then added Lew (who was ineligible to play varsity as a freshman).
Their win over outmanned Holy Cross was a blowout, yet I most remember seeing the Crusaders basically transfixed in pre-game, watching Alcindor during the warmup layup line. Dunking wasn't permitted, so Lew would dribble in, take a little jump and basically drop the ball into the hoop from well above it. Game over... LOL!