Bench-Clearing Brawl On Dirt Floor Of Madison Square Garden Is Indoor Soccer As God Intended

Shortly before the United States entered World War II and sports were put on the back burner, directors and executives were looking for the next big revenue-generating events. 

In 1941 — years before the New York Knicks were even founded — Madison Square Garden decided that hosting indoor soccer was a worthwhile adventure, and the promoters weren’t wrong with nearly 10,000 paying customers showing up to watch teams from the American Soccer League literally do battle.

The Garden was constructed with the New York Rangers (hockey) in mind, so the field was just 83 yards long and 41 yards wide with smaller goals, a 35-foot wall behind both ends and two and a half yard walls running along the sidelines.    

Incredibly, the cement and cork surface of the Garden was covered with a layer of dirt leftover from a traveling circus. 

The play out on the pitch couldn’t have been great, but the fighting is now the stuff of legend. 

On May 6, 1941, there was an ASL indoor soccer doubleheader at Madison Square Garden

During the first game, St. Mary’s Celtics Ed Tuohey clipped Brooklyn Hispano goalkeeper Al Smith in the face

Hilarity ensued pic.twitter.com/hDDVMMuAKr

— Steve Holroyd (@soccermavn) September 10, 2020

St. Mary’s Celtics goalkeeper Bill Busse (1) lands a few haymakers in a May 1941 ASL indoor soccer brawl

Legend! pic.twitter.com/SSfUP4Apr7

— Steve Holroyd (@soccermavn) September 10, 2020

According to the Daily News, this match between St. Mary’s and Brooklyn Hispano “was nearly completed at the Polyclinic Hospital.”