Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Harlem Globetrotters originated in 1926 on the South Side of Chicago, at the Giles American Legion Post #87. All the original players grew up in the Bronzeville neighborhood and attended Wendell Phillips High School. The name "Harlem" was chosen by promoter Abe Saperstein because Harlem was considered the center of Black American culture, not because the team was based there.
The Harlem Globetrotters have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and territories. Their primary opponents have been the Washington Generals and the New York Nationals.
Reece "Goose" Tatum, who joined the team in 1941, is credited by the Globetrotters themselves with steering the act toward comedy. His number 50 was retired by the team on the 8th of February 2002.
In 1959, the Globetrotters played nine games in Moscow at Lenin Central Stadium, with Wilt Chamberlain on the roster. They met Premier Nikita Khrushchev and received the Athletic Order of Lenin medal. State-run Pravda called their performance "too full of tricks" but acknowledged they had techniques worth learning.
Chuck Cooper, a Harlem Globetrotter, became the first Black player drafted in the NBA when the Boston Celtics selected him in 1950. His teammate Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton then became the first Black player to sign an NBA contract when the New York Knicks purchased his contract from the Globetrotters for $12,500.
Lynette Woodard, an Olympic gold medalist, became the first female player signed by the Harlem Globetrotters in 1985.