Tale of the ticker tape: The quirky history behind the Knicks' first NYC parade

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Knicks fans have waited forever for this.

Thursday's ticker-tape parade for the new NBA champions will be a first. When the team won the title before, in 1970 and ‘73, they weren't honored with New York's signature procession.

Why not? There's no one definitive explanation. But there is some informative context: The '70s wins came at a time when then-Mayor John Lindsay had reined in the confetti-tossing spectacles. He celebrated the Knicks at the mayoral mansion and then City Hall — august settings, for sure, but not the fabled trip through lower Broadway’s “Canyon of Heroes.”

If there's pent-up demand for a Knicks parade, current Mayor Zohran Mamdani seems determined to meet it. He has predicted that Thursday’s celebration might be “the largest parade in New York City history.”

“There will be performances, there will be New Yorkers, there will be the team and there will be history,” the mayor, a Democrat, said Monday.

The event is set to start at 10 a.m. Thursday near Battery Park and end at City Hall, where Mamdani plans to give the players the keys to the city.

Knicks legends Walt “Clyde” Frazier — a member of the ’70s champion teams — and Patrick Ewing are expected to be in the parade, according to a person familiar with the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details before they were publicly announced. The person said Mike Breen, the Knicks’ play-by-play announcer on MSG Network, was set to emcee the City Hall ceremony.

Alicia Keys, the singer who joined with Jay-Z on the indelible 2009 “Empire State of Mind,” has been tapped to perform.

“How could I not?” Keys said Wednesday in a social media post that featured her chatting with Knicks forward OG Anunoby.

Police plan to deploy 10,000 officers to secure the event, which follows ebullient but sometimes chaotic street celebrations and some violence during the Knicks' run to victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Some 650 sanitation workers have been assigned to clean up what could be tens of thousands of pounds (kilos) of debris, if recent history is any guide.

New York's ticker-tape tradition began in the late 19th century, when brokerage firm workers watched parades from office windows and — apparently to add decoration — flung out the narrow paper used by telegraph-era “stock ticker” machines, according to the Downtown Alliance, a lower Manhattan advocacy group. It joined with the private Museum of the City of New York to research and list the parades.

The organizations say the ticker-tape tradition began with an 1886 event honoring the dedication of the Statue of Liberty and became city-organized in 1919 to welcome returning World War I soldiers. The first ticker-tape celebration of athletes was a tribute to the 1924 U.S. Olympic team.

The parades proliferated, celebrating various feats in aviation, war, sports, music, space travel and more, according to the museum and the Downtown Alliance.

Processions honored historical anniversaries, firefighters, the Red Cross, ship rescues, an attempted ship rescue and even a ship replica (the Mayflower II, in 1957). There were a handful of parades for U.S. presidents and dozens for visiting foreign leaders, some notorious. For example, French Marshal Henri Petain was showered with ticker tape in 1931 and later convicted of treason for heading the Vichy government that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

By the time Lindsay took office in 1966, not everyone loved a parade.

Lower Manhattan businesses resented the frequent disruptions, and some New Yorkers saw the celebrations as rote and manufactured. Lindsay and his public events commissioner — former Knicks captain and jump-shot ace John “Bud” Palmer — eschewed ticker-tape extravaganzas for visiting dignitaries, instead favoring more personal and inexpensive gatherings, according to news stories by The Associated Press and other outlets at the time.

By 1970, the nation was in a recession. The city events budget had been cut, and Palmer — whose salary was a symbolic $1 — was peeved about the rejection of a $372 bill (about $3,300 today) for some materials for a 1969 ticker-tape parade celebrating the New York Mets' World Series win, according to memos unearthed by the city Department of Records & Information Services.

There was no ticker-tape bash for the New York Jets' 1970 Super Bowl win, which came days after such a parade honored the Apollo 8 astronauts ' historic orbit around the moon.

The Knicks topped the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA championship later that year. Lindsay, a liberal Republican, sent a congratulatory telegram and hosted the Knicks for a reception at the official mayoral residence, according to news coverage at the time.

When the Knicks bested the Lakers again to win the 1973 title, Lindsay scheduled a celebration in front of City Hall and urged “every New Yorker who can to come.”

Officials apparently were startled when more than 2,000 mostly young fans did just that. Police struggled to keep the speakers' stand clear, according to a New York Times article from the day.

But the ceremony went ahead as planned, and Lindsay bestowed the team with a distinctly municipal honor: medals commemorating the 75th anniversary of the unification of New York's five boroughs into one city.

Parades for championship sports teams picked up in subsequent decades. The city's most recent ticker-tape festivities honored the WNBA's New York Liberty in 2024.

AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed from Southampton, New York.

FILE - New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu holds up the WNBA basketball championship trophy while riding down Broadway during a parade celebrating the team's season championship, Oct. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

A New York Knicks fan celebrates after the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

New York Knicks fans celebrate their victory after a watch party for Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

FILE - New York Mayor John Lindsay, right, congratulates Red Holzman, coach of the New York Knicks, after presenting the city's diamond jubilee medals to Holzman and other members of the Knicks team on the steps of City Hall on May 15, 1973. Shown with the mayor are Irving Felt, board chairman of Madison Square Garden, second from left, and Willis Reed, team captain, next to Lindsay. (AP Photo/Anthony Camerano, File)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, right, hugs center Mitchell Robinson after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate) CORRECTION: corrects ID to Mitchell Robinson instead Og Anunoby

Every team has played a game in this oversized World Cup filled with big surprises.

The stakes rise quickly as the 48 teams begin playing their second group-stage matches.

Cape Verde, Qatar and Congo have earned points for the first time in the World Cup, raising hope for an improbable run to the knockout round.

Spain, Portugal and Brazil, among the pre-tournament favorites to win it all, need wins to keep up in their groups after opening with draws. Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia and Switzerland are in the same boat.

On Thursday, hosts Mexico and Canada, along with Switzerland and South Korea, will be among the teams playing for a second time.

— Czech Republic vs. South Africa, noon EDT in Atlanta (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Switzerland vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 3 p.m. EDT in Inglewood, California (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Canada vs. Qatar, 6 p.m. EDT in Vancouver, British Columbia (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Mexico vs. South Korea, 9 p.m. EDT in Guadalajara, Mexico (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

Mexico will look to take control of Group A against South Korea following a thrilling start as World Cup host.

Four years after a major disappointment in Qatar, the Mexicans roared out of the gate with a 2-0 win over South Africa. The dominant victory thrilled a capacity crowd of 80,824 at famed Azteca Stadium and drew 7.1 million viewers in the United States, making it the most-watched opening match for an English-language broadcast.

The next match may be a little tougher.

South Korea opened its 12th World Cup appearance by scoring twice in the second half for a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.

While Mexico will have to travel 600 miles from Mexico City for its second match, South Korea remained in Guadalajara following its opener.

Mexico also will be without defender Cesar Montes, who received one of three red cards in the match against South Africa.

South Africa will be short-handed for its Group A match against the Czech Republic in Atlanta.

Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane both received red cards against Mexico, which carries an automatic one-game suspension.

Zwane’s suspension was increased to thee games by FIFA on Wednesday, deeming his contact to the face of Mexico's Roberto Alvarado to be serious foul play. South Africa is appealing FIFA's decision.

Canada and Qatar made history in their openers, scoring late goals to earn their first World Cup points. The teams meet on Thursday looking for their first win.

Qatar had a forgettable run in the 2022 World Cup, scoring a single goal while becoming the first host country to lose all three of its matches. The Qataris opened this year’s tournament with a shocker, scoring in stoppage time to pull out a 1-1 draw against Group B favorite Switzerland.

Canada followed a rousing opening ceremony with a slow start against Bosnia-Herzegovina Friday in Toronto. Substitute Cyle Larin turned disappointment into celebration, scoring in the 78th minute to secure a 1-1 draw.

It marked Canada’s first World Cup point after it scored one goal while losing all six games in 1976 in Mexico and four years ago in Qatar.

Canada’s bid for a first win could be hampered by captain Alphonso Davies’ nagging hamstring injury. He didn’t play against Bosnia and has been limited in training from an injury suffered while playing for Bayern Munich on May 6.

Switzerland is trying to bounce back from the shocking tie against 56th-ranked Qatar that created a four-way tie in Group B.

The next chance for the Swiss comes against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which had the opposite reaction to opening with a draw.

At No. 64 in the world, the Bosnians are the lowest-ranked team in the group, yet pulled out a draw against the host country. That came after Bosnia stunned Italy in the final of the European playoffs.

— Christian Pulisic still training separately, increasing concern for the US at the World Cup

— Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal held to a 1-1 draw by Congo at the World Cup

— Cape Verde star goalkeeper Vozinha’s mother gets visa to attend next World Cup match

— FIFA hydration breaks spark backlash and blamed for killing momentum at World Cup

— Iran and Egypt will meet, uncomfortably, in Seattle’s World Cup ‘Pride Match’

— Turkish state broadcaster drops veteran World Cup commentator over Iran-New Zealand mix-up

— Highlights from Day 7 in photos

Harry Kane's two goals against Croatia gives him 10 in his World Cup career, matching Gary Lineker’s England record and five others for seventh all-time. The others with 10: Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta, Peru's Teófilo Cubillas, Poland's Grzegorz Lato and Germans Thomas Müller and Helmut Rahn.

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Harry Kane greats fans after the World Cup Group L soccer match between England and Croatia in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

South Africa's Sphephelo Sithol, left, and Mexico's Erik Lira battle for the ball during the World Cup Group A soccer match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Qatar's Pedro Miguel, yells as he celebrates after teammate Qatar's Boualem Khoukhi, right scored his sides first goal during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the World Cup Group K soccer match between Portugal and Congo in Houston, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Canada's Cyle Larin (9) scores his sides first goal of the game in the second half of the World Cup Group B soccer match between Canada and Bosnia, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Sam Balkansky)