Can
you imagine professional basketball without Kobe, Le Bron, Michael
Jordan, or Wilt Chamberlain? No Shaq or Magic or Kareem? I could go
on and on naming great basketball players of the past and
present—those who just happen to be black—and you would wonder
what the sport would be like without them. But for decades pro
basketball was “whites only”! The color barrier was finally
lifted in 1950.
Waaaaayyyy
back on this date in 1927, when blacks weren't allowed on pro teams,
the Harlem Globetrotters—a team made up of black players—made
their debut.
A
short, Jewish guy from Chicago named Abe Saperstein was the owner and
coach of the team. He decided to capitalize on the fact that his team
was made up of black men and chose a name that would be recognized as
having roots in the African-American community; Harlem is the name of
a famous “Negro” neighborhood that was undergoing a grand
Renaissance in the 1920s—an explosion of art and poetry and music
by black artists. It wasn't until the late 1960s that the Harlem
Globetrotters actually played a game in Harlem!
Saperstein
hand-sewed uniforms for his new team all by himself. He chose to make
patriotic red-white-and-blue uniforms, and he emblazoned them with
the words “New York” (even though the team members were in and
from Chicago). Saperstein's dad was a tailor, so we can guess that
Saperstein might have learned how to sew as a kid.
So
now he had a team, a cool name, and flashy uniforms. Now what?
Saperstein had to work hard to book games for his team. He acted as,
not just coach and owner, but also manager and publicist. Saperstein
even occasionally acted as a substitute player!
That
first game was played in Hinckley, Illinois, and the team as a whole
was paid just $75. None of my sources state whether or not the
Globetrotters won that first game, but they probably did since they
won 101 out of 117 games in the first “season.” Many people
didn't know a thing about basketball (which was invented a mere 36
years before the Globetrotters' debut) until the Globetrotters came
to town, so the team may have added to the game's popularity.
 |
| Take a peek at this video of a Globetrotter's antics. |
In
1939 the Globetrotters began to add “silly antics”: ball-handling
tricks, trick shots, and comedic clowning on court. The crowds LOVED
the antics, and the team became more sought-out and popular. Still,
Saperstein asked the team to add in the comedy and tricks only when
the Globetrotters had a large lead. But that might have been pretty
often, since the Globetrotters won a LOT—supposedly they had a
2,495-game winning streak until they had a loss in 1971, and then
they supposedly had a 8,829-game winning streak until 1995! With this
many victories, it's easier to just list the rare defeats!
The
Globetrotters' overall record is 22,000 wins to 345 losses. That
means that they win more than 98% of the time!
Over
the years, the Harlem Globetrotters have played B-ball in more than
115 countries, in front of more than 120 million fans. Several movies
and TV shows have been made about the team. The team is
part-entertainment / part-sport, so it is appropriate that the team
was honored by an induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame AND ALSO
has its own star on the Hollywood Walk to Fame!
Also
on this date:
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