Fort Neverlose (Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum)
Hockey’s New York Islanders played in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and were so successful in the 1980s that the Coliseum was dubbed “Fort Neverlose.” “Fort Never Lose” has been cited in print since at least 1982.
Bill Gallo (1922-2011), a cartoonist for the Daily News (New York, NY), has been credited for coining the nickname, but the cartoon has not been found online. Mike Lupica, a Daily News sports columnist, has also been credited for “Fort Neverlose.”
After basketball’s Brooklyn Nets won their 14th straight home game at the Barclays Center in 2014, at least one fan suggested that Barclays Center should be called the new “Fort Neverlose.”
Islander fans—in losing seasons—called the Nassau Vetersns Memorial Coliseum as the “Mausoleum.”
Wikipedia: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (commonly known as Nassau Coliseum or simply The Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York. Currently home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, the Coliseum is located approximately 19 miles (31 km) east of New York City on Long Island. Opened in 1972, the Coliseum occupies 63 acres (25 ha) of Mitchel Field, site of a former Army and Air Force base. The facility is located in the Town of Hempstead, within the Uniondale 11553 ZIP code. The Coliseum is also used for concerts, large exhibitions and shows of various kinds, as well as trade shows — 44,000 square feet (4,100 m2) at the main arena, 60,000 at the Expo Center.
3 November 1982, Daily News (New York, NY), “Arbour: Isles getting away with an awful lot” by Eric Compton, pg. C27, col. 1:
Complacency.
At Nassau Coliseum, which has become known as Fort Neverlose, that is the word heard most often these days.
23 January 1985, Altoona (PA) Mirror, “Detroit wins first,” pg. E3, col. 1:
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (UPI)—The Detroit Red Wings came into the Nassau Coliseum—nicknamed “Fort Never Lose”—for a Tuesday match with the New York Islanders, knowing they were winless in 12 games.
New York (NY) Times
HOCKEY
Islanders Reach Back for Something Extra
By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI
Published: December 8, 1996
UNIONDALE, L.I., Dec. 7— Shorty before tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals, the Islanders skated onto the Nassau Coliseum ice, each player wearing a jersey with the name Gillies sewn across the back, that familiar No. 9 stitched beneath it.
At the place once known around the hockey world as Fort Neverlose, 15,631 spectators came to celebrate Clark Gillies Night.
Google Groups: alt.sports.hockey.nhl.ny-islanders
The real playoff begin now!
islander
5/13/97
Ranger fans are loyal?? Give me a Fucking break!! During those lean years, 54 I believe it was, Ranger fans jumped ship like the Titanic was going down. The Garden did sell out every night like someone else posted here a while ago. Fort Neverlose was always rocking. The Islander fans didn’t get fed up with the team but the management of the team.
Google Books
Fish Sticks:
The Fall and Rise of the New York Islanders
BY Peter Botte nd Alan Hahn
Sports Publishing
2002
Pg. 79:
Much like its main tenant, the Islanders, Nassau Coliseum enjoyed a brief yet booming heyday during the team’s Stanley Cup era from 1980-83, when the building, affectionately dubbed “Fort Neverlose,” was sold out for virtually every home game during the regular season and was standing room only for the playoffs.
HFBoards
Son of Steinbrenner
12-07-2005, 09:46 AM
Any word on what the Islander game pulled in NY last night on OLN? :biglaugh:
Stop it!
Maybe you haven’t heard but 20 years ago Mike Lupica called Nassau Collisium “Fort Neverlose.”
Google Books
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
By Nicholas Hirshon
Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing
2010
Pg. 83:
Reporters often referred to the coliseum as “Fort Neverlose” during this area.
Twitter
Dee Karl
@7thWoman
It’s still a presence of #isles and their history in the area of what was once “Fort Neverlose”
11:01 AM - 15 Aug 2013
Daily News (New York, NY)
Rangers vs. Islanders: The Rivalry
It took the Rangers years to recover from the Islander uprising and it came with the guidance of a former Islander draftee and scouting assistant.
BY ROB NG NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Wednesday, January 29, 2014, 11:13 AM
(...)
In five years, the Islanders had won 19 straight playoff series and Nassau Coliseum came to be known as Fort Neverlose in the Daily News by cartoonist Bill Gallo.
Twitter
vincent buttaro
@salseecha
Brooklyn nets setting the foundation to make Barclay the new ” fort neverlose ” hold the fort down we are on our way
9:25 PM - 1 Apr 2014