Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Harlem Globetrotters originated in 1926 at the Giles American Legion Post #87 on the South Side of Chicago. All original players grew up and attended Wendell Phillips High School within the Bronzeville neighborhood.
Abe Saperstein became involved with the team as a coach, manager, promoter and part-time player. By 1929, Saperstein was touring Illinois and Iowa with his basketball team called the New York Harlem Globe Trotters.
The Globetrotters played nine games in Moscow during this historic tour and collectively received the Athletic Order of Lenin medal. They met Premier Nikita Khrushchev and were welcomed enthusiastically by spectators and authorities.
Wilt Chamberlain played for the Globetrotters from 1958 to 1959 before his jersey number became the first retired. His retirement occurred on the 9th of March 2000.
In June 2021, the Globetrotters filed a petition to join the National Basketball Association as an expansion franchise.