1985: First Marty Lyons Foundation
Celebrity Classic Is Held

During the week of March 4, 1982, Marty Lyons of the New York Jets became a father but lost his own father and the leukemia-stricken boy whom he had mentored. In December 1982, Lyons established the Marty Lyons Foundation, which fulfills the special wishes of children with terminal or life-threatening illnesses. To raise funds, the foundation held the first Marty Lyons Foundation Celebrity Classic, a celebrity golf tournament, at the Fox Hill Golf & Country Club in Baiting Hollow on July 16, 1985. According to William Gibney, the foundation’s president at the time, at least 18 celebrities from the New York Giants, Jets, and Islanders participated, raising over $20,000. In July 2004, the 20th Anniversary Celebrity Golf Classic took place at the Old Westbury Country Club and Sands Point Golf Club. In recent years, the event has raised more than $100,000 a year. Lyons is shown here in a 2001 photo.