12 Facts About Ned Irish

Edward S Irish was an American basketball promoter and one of the key figures in popularizing professional basketball.

Ned Irish was the founder and president of the New York Knicks from 1946 to 1974.

Ned Irish was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.

Ned Irish's father died when he was three years old and his mother, a nurse, moved with him to Brooklyn, where he attended Erasmus Hall High School.

Ned Irish graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1928 and began working as a sports journalist for the New York World-Telegram.

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Ned Irish often told a story of covering a game at Manhattan College where the crowd so overwhelmed the tiny gym that he had to climb in through a window, tearing the pants of the best suit he owned.

Ned Irish's promotions of college matchups were a larger financial success than anticipated, and were important to growing the popularity of basketball at a time before there was an established professional league.

Ned Irish insisted that home teams keep their own admissions revenue, which was advantageous to teams in major markets such as the Knicks.

Ned Irish served as president of the Knicks from 1946 until 1974.

Ned Irish was mostly known as a hands-off president, as his skills lied in promotion rather than technical knowledge of the game.

Knicks analyst Alan Hahn wrote that Ned Irish was not "beloved" and was known as cold and unapproachable.

Ned Irish was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.