(the above poster is available for $20 from the CSTB Archives. $25 if you want the version that comes without a cassette recording of Jerry Ferrera cursing about Charles Smith).
Posting & Toasting is compiling an list of their top New York Knicks of all time, and Anthony Mason’s Haircut would like to nominate….Louis Orr.
Just kidding.
As a white pre-teen in suburban Connecticut, it wasn’t exactly socially acceptable to have messages shaved in my head like Mase. But regardless, I begged my parents to no avail. After ignoring their orders and a failed attempt to shave “Muggsy” (my nickname at the time since I was like 4 feet tall) into my head during 5th grade summer camp in 1994, I decided the haircut artistry was best left to Mason. I tried all week to recall some of the specific messages he had in his head. His trademark was the “Mase” in cursive, which he apparently still rocks today. He may have at one time had “Chosen” or something similar. You could basically fit a whole paragraph on that dude’s head.
One could argue that Anthony Mason was the biggest pop culture icon in Knicks history. He’s certainly in the top three. Walt Frazier had his fashion, John Starks had “the Dunk” and his middle-finger incident in Miami, and Pat had his Angel of Death cameo in the Exorcist. Mase had his haircut, a music video, rap song references, a fugly baby hook and his right and left elbows. He may not have been a statistical monster and he may not have a place for his jersey to be hung at the Garden. But, Anthony Mason (pause for emotional ending) certainly has cemented a place in all of our hearts (9th place to be exact).
A.M.’s H. neglects to mention that Mase was the only member of the Knicks to spend off-days in the studio audience of The Ricki Lake Show. Never short of entertainment options, Mase once served a Pat Riley-mandated suspension by taking in a Knicks game from the blue seats.