Philadelphia Arena
Encyclopedia
The Philadelphia Arena was an arena used mainly for sporting events located in Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
.
The building, originally named the Philadelphia Ice Palace and Auditorium, was located at 4530 Market Street, next to what would become the WFIL
TV Studio
which broadcast American Bandstand
. It was built by George F. Pawling, of George F. Pawling & Co., Engineers and Contractors, and opened on Saturday, February 14, 1920. The first event was two nights later, Monday, February 16, 1920, a college hockey game between Yale and Princeton
Tigers; the Bulldogs won, 4–0, before a crowd of over 4,000 despite the fact that the arena had only one small entrance at the time.
One of the first teams to make the Arena home was the Yale University men's ice hockey team. Yale did not have a suitable on-campus venue in 1920 and played home games in Philadelphia. During the 1920-1921 season, Yale, Princeton, and Penn made the Arena their home ice.
(1896–1973) joined the Arena as boxing matchmaker and subsequently became the facility’s publicist. In 1934 Tyrrell was named a friendly receiver-in-equity by George Welsh, a federal judge. Tyrrell became general manager of the Arena and served in that capacity until 1958, returning the corporation to profitability and enriching the variety of public entertainment.
, fresh from her triumph in the 1936 Winter Olympics. Roy Rogers, cowboy movie star, performed in his first rodeo at the Philadelphia arena in 1943. The Roy Rogers
Rodeo
played the Arena every season for more than 20 years, and in 1946, when a young cowgirl died after riding a bucking bronco, her funeral was held there. Rogers and the Sons of Pioneers sang "Roundup in the Sky," and after the closing prayer, everybody rode out to the cemetery. It was also the home of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Banquet. Professionally, the arena was the home of the Philadelphia Quakers
of the NHL
in their only season, 1930–1931, as well as the main home of seveal minor league hockey teams such as the Philadelphia Arrows
, Philadelphia Ramblers
, the Philadelphia Falcons/Philadelphia Rockets
and the Philadelphia Ramblers (EHL)
, as well as the Philadelphia Warriors and part-time home of the Philadelphia 76ers
of the NBA when the Philadelphia Convention Center was unavailable.
The arena was also a major venue for boxing
and wrestling
before the opening of the Spectrum. Throughout the history of the Arena, such legends as Sugar Ray Robinson
, Lew Tendler
, Gene Tunney
, Joe Frazier
and Primo Carnera
fought there. Several championship wrestling matches occurred there, both for the NWA
and the WWWF
(including Stan Stasiak
winning the WWWF championship belt in 1973, the only time until 1977 the belt ever changed hands outside of Madison Square Garden
). Roller Derby
also was held there, through the team named the Philadelphia Warriors, not connected with the basketball team, owned by Bill Griffiths, the owner of the Los Angeles Thunderbirds and Roller Games
.
. However, many of the city's mayoral inauguration parties were held there. Evangelist Billy Sunday
spoke there, and before the United States
entered World War II
, Charles A. Lindbergh gave a speech before an America First Committee
Meeting.
, along with the NBA franchise and the Philadelphia Warriors Basketball team. This transaction made TV station WFIL-TV, owned by Triangle Publications, the first joint ownership of a major professional sports team and TV station. In 1958, a group headed by Tyrrell purchased the Arena from the Walter Annenberg Foundation, to which ownership had been transferred by Triangle Publications. At the time of Tyrrell’s retirement in 1965, the Arena building was sold at auction to James Toppi Enterprises, a sports promotion concern.
In 1980, the Continental Basketball Association
's Lancaster Red Roses relocated to the newly-named Martin Luther King, Jr. Arena and became the Philadelphia Kings. The Kings were coached by longtime 76er and Basketball Hall of Famer Hal Greer
and led on the court by former NBA superstar Cazzie Russell. The franchise lasted just one season at the legendary arena before returning to Lancaster.
The arena was finally destroyed by arson on August 24, 1983. As of 2007, the former site of the arena now contains a housing complex, adjacent to the former TV studio which has become the Ron Brown Commerce Center. The site is located in West Philadelphia, on Market Street between 45th and 46th Streets.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
The building, originally named the Philadelphia Ice Palace and Auditorium, was located at 4530 Market Street, next to what would become the WFIL
WFIL
WFIL is a radio station and a former television station serving the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its transmitter is located in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania....
TV Studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
which broadcast American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
. It was built by George F. Pawling, of George F. Pawling & Co., Engineers and Contractors, and opened on Saturday, February 14, 1920. The first event was two nights later, Monday, February 16, 1920, a college hockey game between Yale and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
Tigers; the Bulldogs won, 4–0, before a crowd of over 4,000 despite the fact that the arena had only one small entrance at the time.
One of the first teams to make the Arena home was the Yale University men's ice hockey team. Yale did not have a suitable on-campus venue in 1920 and played home games in Philadelphia. During the 1920-1921 season, Yale, Princeton, and Penn made the Arena their home ice.
The Tyrrell Era
Jules Mastbaum, owner of a movie theater chain (The Stanley Company of America), acquired the building in 1925 and re-named it the Arena. In 1927 the Arena was purchased by Rudy Fried and Maurice Fishman who operated the facility until 1934, when the their partnership was placed in receivership. In 1929, Peter A. TyrrellPeter A. Tyrrell
Peter A. Tyrrell was an entertainment entrepreneur in Philadelphia, most prominently associated with the Philadelphia Arena...
(1896–1973) joined the Arena as boxing matchmaker and subsequently became the facility’s publicist. In 1934 Tyrrell was named a friendly receiver-in-equity by George Welsh, a federal judge. Tyrrell became general manager of the Arena and served in that capacity until 1958, returning the corporation to profitability and enriching the variety of public entertainment.
Historic Events
The arena was the site of several historic sporting events, including the professional debut of Sonja HenieSonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
, fresh from her triumph in the 1936 Winter Olympics. Roy Rogers, cowboy movie star, performed in his first rodeo at the Philadelphia arena in 1943. The Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
Rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
played the Arena every season for more than 20 years, and in 1946, when a young cowgirl died after riding a bucking bronco, her funeral was held there. Rogers and the Sons of Pioneers sang "Roundup in the Sky," and after the closing prayer, everybody rode out to the cemetery. It was also the home of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Banquet. Professionally, the arena was the home of the Philadelphia Quakers
Philadelphia Quakers (NHL)
The Philadelphia Quakers were an American professional ice hockey team that played only one full season in the National Hockey League , 1930–31, at the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
of the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
in their only season, 1930–1931, as well as the main home of seveal minor league hockey teams such as the Philadelphia Arrows
Philadelphia Arrows
The Philadelphia Arrows were a professional ice hockey team that played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1927, the club was Philadelphia's first professional hockey team and played in the Canadian-American Hockey League. The team changed its name to the Philadelphia Ramblers beginning...
, Philadelphia Ramblers
Philadelphia Ramblers
The Philadelphia Ramblers were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ramblers played for six seasons during the infancy of the American Hockey League from 1935 to 1941.-History:...
, the Philadelphia Falcons/Philadelphia Rockets
Philadelphia Rockets
The Philadelphia Rockets were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Rockets played for three seasons in American Hockey League from 1946 to 1949...
and the Philadelphia Ramblers (EHL)
Philadelphia Ramblers (EHL)
The Philadelphia Ramblers were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ramblers played for nine seasons in the Eastern Hockey League from 1955 to 1964...
, as well as the Philadelphia Warriors and part-time home of the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
of the NBA when the Philadelphia Convention Center was unavailable.
The arena was also a major venue for boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
before the opening of the Spectrum. Throughout the history of the Arena, such legends as Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
, Lew Tendler
Lew Tendler
"Lefty" Lew Tendler was an American boxer. He is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.-External links:******...
, Gene Tunney
Gene Tunney
James Joseph "Gene" Tunney was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1926-1928 who defeated Jack Dempsey twice, first in 1926 and then in 1927. Tunney's successful title defense against Dempsey is one of the most famous bouts in boxing history and is known as The Long Count Fight...
, Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
and Primo Carnera
Primo Carnera
Primo Carnera was an Italian boxer, nicknamed the Ambling Alp, who became the world heavyweight champion.-Biography:...
fought there. Several championship wrestling matches occurred there, both for the NWA
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
and the WWWF
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(including Stan Stasiak
Stan Stasiak
George Stipich , better known by his ring name Stan Stasiak, was a Canadian professional wrestler and fifth World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion. He is the father of professional wrestler Shawn Stasiak.-Career:...
winning the WWWF championship belt in 1973, the only time until 1977 the belt ever changed hands outside of Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
). Roller Derby
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
also was held there, through the team named the Philadelphia Warriors, not connected with the basketball team, owned by Bill Griffiths, the owner of the Los Angeles Thunderbirds and Roller Games
Roller Games
Roller Games was the name of a sports entertainment spectacle created in the early 1960s in Los Angeles, California as a rival to the Jerry Seltzer-owned Roller Derby league, which had enjoyed a monopoly on the sport of roller derby — and its name — since its inception in 1935. Roller Games...
.
Political and Other Events
The Arena was not used as much for political and other events, as those events tended to be held at Convention HallPhiladelphia Civic Center
The Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center, more commonly known as the Philadelphia Civic Center and the Philadelphia Convention Center, was a complex of five or more buildings developed out of a series of buildings dedicated to expanding trade which began with the National Export Exhibition...
. However, many of the city's mayoral inauguration parties were held there. Evangelist Billy Sunday
Billy Sunday
William Ashley "Billy" Sunday was an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century.Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some...
spoke there, and before the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Charles A. Lindbergh gave a speech before an America First Committee
America First Committee
The America First Committee was the foremost non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II. Peaking at 800,000 members, it was likely the largest anti-war organization in American history. Started in 1940, it became defunct after the attack on Pearl Harbor in...
Meeting.
Triangle Publications
In 1947 the Arena was sold to Triangle PublicationsTriangle Publications
Triangle Publications, Inc. was an American media group first based at 400 North Broad Street , Philadelphia, and later at its TV Guide headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Triangle Publications was a privately-held corporation with the majority of stock owned by Walter Annenberg and his sisters...
, along with the NBA franchise and the Philadelphia Warriors Basketball team. This transaction made TV station WFIL-TV, owned by Triangle Publications, the first joint ownership of a major professional sports team and TV station. In 1958, a group headed by Tyrrell purchased the Arena from the Walter Annenberg Foundation, to which ownership had been transferred by Triangle Publications. At the time of Tyrrell’s retirement in 1965, the Arena building was sold at auction to James Toppi Enterprises, a sports promotion concern.
Final years
The building fell out of popular use in the 1970s, due to the building of the Spectrum in 1967. In 1977, the deteriorating building was auctioned off. It was renovated and renamed in honor of Martin Luther King.In 1980, the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
's Lancaster Red Roses relocated to the newly-named Martin Luther King, Jr. Arena and became the Philadelphia Kings. The Kings were coached by longtime 76er and Basketball Hall of Famer Hal Greer
Hal Greer
Harold Everett Greer is a retired American professional basketball player.He attended Douglass Junior and Senior High School in Huntington. He played college basketball at Marshall University and was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals of the NBA in 1958...
and led on the court by former NBA superstar Cazzie Russell. The franchise lasted just one season at the legendary arena before returning to Lancaster.
The arena was finally destroyed by arson on August 24, 1983. As of 2007, the former site of the arena now contains a housing complex, adjacent to the former TV studio which has become the Ron Brown Commerce Center. The site is located in West Philadelphia, on Market Street between 45th and 46th Streets.