
40th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner

Commemorating 40 years since being paralyzed from a tackle in a college football game – a tackle he credits for saving his life – Marc Buoniconti is hosting the 40th annual Great Sports Legends Dinner on Monday, September 29th, at the New York Hilton Midtown.
Benefitting The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, the dinner honors 10 athletes who have achieved the pinnacle of their respective sports as Hall of Famers, World Champions, Olympic Gold Medalists and Sports Icons – including two-time World Series Champion Albert Pujols, NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, NBA Champion Dwight Howard, NFL Hall of Famers Warren Moon and Thurman Thomas, 2026 Nascar Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Busch, NHL Hall of Famer Jeremy Roenick, Olympic speedskating medalist Apolo Ohno, 2014 U.S. Women’s Open Golf Champion Michelle Wie West, and QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Famer Frankie Dettori. Dr. Barth Green, co-founder and chairman of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, receives The Buoniconti Fund Award, and legendary investor and business Icon Mario Gabelli receives the Outstanding Philanthropist Award.
Music icon, philanthropist, eight-time Grammy Award winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Gloria Estefan, and Bob Costas, 28-time Emmy Award winning broadcaster, 12-time prime-time Olympic Games host, and National Baseball Hall of Famer and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer, are Masters of Ceremonies. Foreigner, 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees with worldwide sales of more than 80 million albums, performs.
Title sponsors are the DiMare Family and Paul J. DiMare Foundation, and presenting sponsors are Tudor Group and the Mack Family. Mark Dalton of Tudor Group is longtime event chairman, and co-chairs are Reed Mack and Richard Gray.