October 17, 2011
Dr. J’s jaw-dropping dunks, Bryan Trottier’s electrifying hat
tricks and iconic concerts from the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd –
all defining moments in the rich history of Nassau Coliseum, Long
Island’s sports and culture hub for nearly 40 years.
And thanks to young alumnus Nick Hirshon ’06CPS, that history
has finally been written down.
A Reporter for the Daily News and an Adjunct Professor of
Journalism at St. John’s, Hirshon wrote the first book ever
chronicling this storied arena. Entitled “Nassau Veterans Memorial
Coliseum,” the book is part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of
America series and features stories, blueprints and over 200
photographs highlighting both popular and obscure moments in the
coliseum’s history.
“Other New York venues attract so much attention,” said Hirshon,
a lifelong New York Islanders fan. “How come Nassau Coliseum –
which has been around for four decades – has so little written
about it? That’s why I was glad to work on this, a topic that
nobody else had tackled and something that I can now point to and
say is my expertise.”
Hirshon thoroughly researched the coliseum’s history by
consulting old newspaper articles. He also gained valuable
information and photos from Lance Elder, the former General Manager
of Nassau Coliseum.
“I first met Lance Elder when I was a student,” Hirshon
explained. “He was an Adjunct Professor of Sport Management, which
was my minor, so I took his class. When I was writing the book, I
got in touch with him and was able to pick his brain and get access
to old brochures and photos. After all, he was the manager there
and is someone that I consider the authority on the coliseum, so he
was very helpful. In fact, he actually wound up writing the
foreword for the book.”
Fans will likely remember many of the moments that Hirshon’s
book covers, from the Islanders’ four consecutive Stanley Cup
seasons to the New York Nets’ two ABA championships. It also
features the history of some lesser-known events and teams that
Long Islanders may have forgotten.
“I didn’t know this until I started researching, but the
coliseum hosted Wrestlemania 2 in 1986, which featured Mr. T as a
wrestler, Joan Rivers as an announcer and Ray Charles singing the
national anthem,” Hirshon noted. “Nassau also housed lacrosse,
indoor soccer and tennis teams, and they were pretty incredible.
The soccer team won four consecutive championships and the tennis
team featured big names like Billie Jean King and Virginia
Wade.”
Outside of his book, Hirshon has been writing and reporting for
the Daily News since 2006, when he began an internship there as a
St. John’s student. He is now an Adjunct Professor at the
University and the moderator of the St. John’s Chapter of the
Society of Professional Journalists, opportunities that allow him
to give current students the same type of guidance that he received
years ago.
“Some of the key things going on in my life have been because of
St. John’s,” he noted. “And now, I’ve watched as two of my former
students landed internships. It’s really come full circle, and
that’s a great feeling.”