George Kalinsky was just a plucky art school grad with a camera slung over his shoulder when, in late 1965, he snuck into Muhammad Ali’s gym in Miami, snapped some photos of the boxer training with his coach and then brought the roll of film to Madison Square Garden. The arena had never had an official photographer before, but as the 81-year-old shutterbug told The Post, the brass there liked his “chutzpah.”
“I started taking pictures of the Knicks and the Rangers and all the other things that would happen at the Garden,” said Kalinsky. “And after a few months, they hired me as the Garden photographer. And that’s lasted 50 years so far.”
Kalinsky — who was also a photographer for the New York Mets for almost three decades — has captured some of the most iconic moments in New York City history: Pope John Paul II hoisting a 7-year-old girl onto the Popemobile, Elvis Presley seducing the crowd in his one-and-only Big Apple performance and Jesse Orosco falling to his knees as the Mets won the 1986 World Series among them. A new exhibition, “New York Through the Lens of George Kalinsky,” which runs from Feb. 2 to June 3 at the New-York Historical Society, showcases more than 70 of the Long Island native’s history-making images. Kalinsky — who has six grandchildren and lives on the Upper East Side with his photographer wife — shared some of his favorites with The Post.
Muhammad Ali working out at Madison Square Garden, 1967
“The first time I photographed Ali was when I was in Miami for a job interview, and followed him into a gym with my camera. His trainer Angelo Dundee stopped me and said, ‘You can’t come in unless you pay a dollar,’ and I don’t know why but somehow I thought of Madison Square Garden and boxing and [lied], ‘Well, I’m the photographer of Madison Square Garden,’ and he let me in. I didn’t even know that photographing was something I could do as a profession — I was lucky to be the photographer for my family. But once I started taking pictures of Ali, I thought, ‘I really like this!’
“This 1967 fight was the second time I photographed him. [Ali] just happened to be leaning on the ropes between rounds, and he looked at me and a chemistry sort of came about between the two of us. He was looking at me trying to make himself look good and be special for me — and I’m trying to capture this world’s greatest showman doing his thing. We ended up becoming close friends.”
Frank Sinatra photographing the Fight of the Century, 1971
“One day, I’m sitting in my office when Frank Sinatra just walks in, extends his hand and says, ‘Hi, I’m Frank Sinatra, and I hear you’re a great photographer. Now, tell me all you know about photography in five minutes.’ Well, five minutes turned into an hour, and the hour turned into three hours, at which point we went to Patsy’s for lunch, and that started a 30-year friendship.
It turned out that LIFE magazine had hired Sinatra to photograph the [Mohammed] Ali-[Joe] Frazier fight, which was going to be the following week, so he wanted all the help he could get. Sinatra, whatever he did, he wanted to be the best at. If he was painting, he wanted to be the best painter; if he was photographing, he wanted to be the best photographer. His real dream in life was to be heavyweight champion of the world. He told me, ‘There’s no event in the world that has more of an aura or charisma than a heavyweight championship fight in Madison Square Garden.’
Sinatra loved the photo [I took of him photographing the fight]. He would ask me, ‘Are my eyes that blue?’ He took some pretty nice shots himself. He was proud of that. One of his photos was on the cover of LIFE magazine. That is every photographer’s dream, and he did it.”
Elvis Presley performing his only NYC show, 1972
“There are certain times when you’re photographing an event and you look for this moment — you don’t know what it is, but it’s the moment where a star rises to the occasion and gives you that one second that will never be again, that one second that makes coming to the Garden worth it. And that was when Elvis lifted up his arms and the audience was going crazy, and you can see he’s adoring the fans.
“Just before he was going to walk out on stage I had passed him by his dressing room. He was dressed in his white jumpsuit with his sequins and I shook hands with him, and we started talking and he said, ‘George, what’s the most greatest moment that you’ve ever had in the Garden?’ And, I’m thinking, ‘This is Elvis!’ And I said, ‘You know, Elvis, right now.’ It turned out it was an important moment because it was the only time Elvis ever performed in New York.”
Peggy Fleming skating in Madison Square Garden, 1968
“Peggy Fleming was my favorite ice skater and favorite subject to photograph. She had come to the Garden immediately after winning gold at the Olympics, and she was nearing the end of her program when she skated toward me, and the reflection in the ice was mind-boggling — it was like a total mirror. I’d never seen anything like that before, whether watching the Rangers play or the other ice shows that had happened in the Garden — it was just the ice and lighting was just perfect.
“At the time, the Garden was [associated] with sports that were tough and rough, and then to see Peggy, there was a real glamour and elegance. It was ballet. I had never seen grace and beauty like that before.”
Jesse Orosco winning the World Series with the Mets, 1986
“I remember photographing that game — when the Mets won the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. It’s the final out, and I remember saying to myself, as I say in almost every sport, ‘You need to get that shot that sums up the game — you need that shot that hopefully will turn that person from a relative unknown [in]to a legend.’ Jesse Orosco was facing me in the right way, and the stars aligned and [that photo] would become the classic moment of the game that will live forever.
“As Orosco got on his knees, right behind me Wade Boggs, who played for the Red Sox, was crying. He said, ‘It’s not what you think. It’s not that we just lost.’ He said, ‘The reason I’m crying is because my mother passed away and I’m going to be going back to the house for the first time and she’s not going to be there to greet me.’ I’ve photographed some sad moments, too.”
Pope John Paul II greeting fans, 1979
“I remember the pope pulling up in a limousine, and I opened the door and I said, ‘Welcome, your Holiness, to Madison Square Garden,’ and I put my hand out to help him out of the car. And as he held my hand, I felt very nervous. I told myself, ‘Don’t be blinded by the light! You have to take pictures.’
I had told the pope where I would be standing during the event at the Garden, and when he came to that spot there was a little girl standing next to me. He lifted his arms up for somebody to pick up the little girl, and a security guard picked her up and the pope held her on the Popemobile. He looked at her face and she looked at his face, and it was one of those moments that only happened very few times in your life and I said, ‘I have to get this shot!’
“The pope loved the picture so much, he called it his favorite picture and he asked me for a print, and it stayed on his desk until he died.”