Harlem Globetrotters

• 1. Origins And Early Years

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  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. They began as the Savoy Big Five, one of the premier attractions of the Savoy Ballroom. Starting in January 1928, a basketball team of Black American players played exhibitions before dances to prop up the ballroom's cratering attendance numbers. In 1928, several players left the team in a dispute that autumn. Those players formed a team called the Globe Trotters and toured southern Illinois that spring. 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. Saperstein selected the name Harlem because it was then considered the center of Black American culture. He chose the name Globetrotter to mythologize the team's international venues.

• 2. Racial Integration And Civil Rights

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  In 1950, Harlem Globetrotter Chuck Cooper became the first black player to be drafted in the NBA by Boston. Teammate Nat Sweetwater Clifton became the first black player to sign an NBA contract when the New York Knicks purchased his contract from the Globetrotters for $12,500. The Globetrotters continued to easily win games due to Harlem monopolizing the entire talent pool of the best black basketball players in the country. Once one of the most famous teams in the country, the Globetrotters were eventually eclipsed by the rise of the National Basketball Association. NBA teams began recruiting black players in the 1950s. Because nearly all of the team's players have been black, they drew some criticism during the Civil Rights era. Players were accused by some civil rights advocates of Tomming for Abe, a reference to Uncle Tom and owner Abe Saperstein. Prominent civil rights activist Jesse Jackson came to their defense by stating I think they've been a positive influence. He added that they did not show blacks as stupid but rather showed them as superior. Jesse Jackson would later be named an honorary Globetrotter.

• 3. Theatrical Evolution And Style

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  In 1952, the Globetrotters invited Louis Red Klotz to create a team to accompany them on their tours. This team, the Washington Generals, became the Globetrotters' primary opponents. The Generals are effectively stooges for the Globetrotters with handily defeats in thousands of games. The Globetrotters gradually worked comic routines into their act. A direction the team has credited to Reece Goose Tatum who joined in 1941. They eventually became known more for entertainment than sports. Their acts often feature incredible coordination and skillful handling of one or more basketballs. Examples include passing or juggling balls between players and balancing or spinning balls on their fingertips. They make unusually difficult shots that defy normal expectations. About 20 to 30 percent of a game is real play while other parts are pre-planned. An infamous 99-100 overtime defeat occurred at the hands of the New Jersey Reds on the 5th of January 1971. The crowd watched in distress after the Globetrotters lost track of the score and faced a 12-point deficit with two minutes remaining.

• 4. Cold War Diplomacy In Moscow

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  In 1959, Saperstein received an invitation from Vasily Grigoryevich, the director of Lenin Central Stadium. The Globetrotters played nine games in Moscow during this historic tour. The team included Wilt Chamberlain and was welcomed enthusiastically by spectators and authorities. They met Premier Nikita Khrushchev and collectively received the Athletic Order of Lenin medal. One report titled Russians Baffled by Harlem Fun noted that spectators were initially confused. A Soviet audience of 14,000 sat almost silently through the first half of the game. It warmed up slightly in the second half when it realized the Trotters are more show than competition. The Globetrotters brought their own opponent not the Washington Generals but the San Francisco Chinese Basketeers. A review in state-run Pravda stated This is not basketball; it is too full of tricks. The American press particularly Drew Pearson made note of the fact that the Globetrotters were paid per game the equivalent of $4,000 by the Soviet government. That money could be spent only in Moscow. The games were used as evidence that U.S.-Russian relations were improving.

• 5. Ownership Transitions And Business Model

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  In May 1967, New York City-based Metromedia announced that it would acquire the Globetrotters for $1 million. The deal was never completed and the team was sold to George N. Gillett Jr. who formed a new company called Globetrotter Communications in 1968. Nine years after the company's attempted acquisition in 1976, Metromedia announced that it would acquire the Globetrotters for $11 million from Globetrotter Communications. In 1986, as part of the spin-off of Metromedia's television stations to Rupert Murdoch and the 20th Century Fox film studio, the company sold the Globetrotters and the Ice Capades to the Minneapolis-based International Broadcasting Corporation. Thomas Scallen controlled the corporation which owned KTAB-TV in Abilene, Texas. They purchased the team for $30 million. In 1993, former Globetretters player Mannie Jackson purchased the team from the International Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation was on the verge of bankruptcy at that time. In September 2005, Shamrock Holdings purchased an 80% stake in the Globetrotters. In October 2013, Herschend Family Entertainment announced that it would acquire the Globetrotters from Shamrock Holdings. In June 2021, the Globetrotters filed a petition to join the National Basketball Association as an expansion franchise.

• 6. Notable Players And Retired Numbers

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  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. Marques Haynes played from 1947 to 1953 and again from 1972 to 1979. His number 20 was retired on the 5th of January 2001. Fred Curly Neal played from 1963 to 1985 with his number 22 retiring on the 15th of February 2008. Charles Tex Harrison played from 1954 to 1972 and had his number 34 retired on the 26th of December 2017. Hubert Geese Ausbie played from 1961 to 1985 with his number 35 retired on the 31st of January 2017. Meadowlark Lemon played from 1954 to 1979 and again in 1993. His number 36 was retired on the 5th of January 2001. Sweet Lou Dunbar has played since 1977 with his number 41 retired on the 15th of February 2019. Goose Tatum played from 1941 to 1943 and 1945 to 1955 with his number 50 retired on the 8th of February 2002. The team signed their first female player Olympic gold medalist Lynette Woodard in 1985. Orlando Antigua became the first Hispanic player on the team in 1995.