Inducted on November 9, 1990
All the while the younger Goodman was frequently hired out as are independent contractor, working publicity for specific fights throuqhout the 1960’s and 1970’s.
In 1974 the firm took on Don King Productions, Inc. as a client and in 1980 Bobby moved to Don King Productions full-time, where he handled promotion and matchmaking tor the ubiquitous promoter until taking over the reins at the Garden in 1986.
The Goodmans were made Honorary Overseas Members of the Boxing Writers Club of Great Britain in 1976, the first outside members to be so decorated.
In 1980, Bobby was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America with the prestigious James J. Walker Award for “Long and Meritorious Service to Boxing’, an accolade bestowed upon his father 10 years earlier. They remain the only father-son tandem to have received the honor.
The 51 year old Goodman and his wife of 27 years, Kathleen, reside in Toms River, N.J., with two of their four daughters.
Since Bob Goodman assumed the direction of Madison Square Garden’s boxing program on January 20, 1986, the results have been truly outstanding.
Under Goodman’s guidance, Madison Square Garden Boxing promotes and co-promotes some 30 shows each year, utilizing the services of such championship caliber pugilists as WBA welterweight champion Aaron ‘Superman’ Davis, top-ranked welterweight James ‘Buddy’ McGirt, heavyweight contender Alex ‘The Destroyer’ Stewart, No.2 ranked welterweight Glenwood ‘The Real Beast· Brown, featherweight contender Ricardo Cepeda and standout Iightweight Darryl ‘Terrible T’ Tyson.
Just four months ago, Goodman, a native of the Bronx, presented the first all-live boxing show in the Garden’s Main Arena in over three years as almost 13,000 people saw Razor Ruddock knock out former world champ Michael Dokes,
Goodman’s success in returning the Garden to its proper place among boxing’s hierarchy should hardly come as a surprise, however, considering his pedigree and track record,
The son of renowned publicist Murray Goodman, Bobby first became actively involved in boxing around 1948 when he became enamored with the great Marcel Cerdan whiIe his father was working Cerdan’s Training Camp in the Catskills, He became further engrossed with the sport while at the Training Camps of Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Rocky Marciano,
His first full-time position in the publicity field came in 1962 when he became publicist tor the New York Titans o t the American Football League. One year later he and his father formed a Sports Division of the New York-based Arthur Falconer Associates Advertising Agency and in 1965 the dynamic duo broke out on their own as partners in Murray Goodman Associates.
They counted among their clients the Harlem Globetrotters, Main Bout, Inc.. which handled all the closed-circuit fights involving Muhammad Ali, The All-American Collegiate Golf Foundation and The Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year Award. Individual clients included world champions Ken Norton and Bob Foster as well as Olympic Gymnast Cathy Rigby.