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Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, the Globetrotters have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and territories, mostly against deliberately ineffective opponents, such as the Washington Generals (1953–1995, 2007–2015, 2017–present) and the New York Nationals (1995–2006). The team's signature song is Brother Bones' whistled version of "Sweet Georgia Brown", and their mascot is an anthropomorphized globe named "Globie". The team is owned by Herschend.
The Harlem Globetrotters originated in 1926 at the Giles American Legion Post #87, on the South Side of Chicago, where all the original players were raised and went to Wendell Phillips High school in 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 and the name Globetrotter to mythologize the team's international venues.
The Globetrotters were perennial participants in the World Professional Basketball Tournament, winning it all in its second year in 1940. In a heavily attended matchup a few years later, the 1948 Globetrotters–Lakers game, the Globetrotters made headlines when they beat one of the best white basketball teams in the country, the Minneapolis Lakers. 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), particularly when NBA teams began recruiting black players in the 1950s. In 1950, Harlem Globetrotter Chuck Cooper became the first black player to be drafted in the NBA by Boston, and 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 (equivalent to $167,000 in 2025).
The Globetrotters gradually worked comic routines into their act—a direction the team has credited to Reece "Goose" Tatum, who joined in 1941—and eventually became known more for entertainment than sports. The Globetrotters' acts often feature incredible coordination and skillful handling of one or more basketballs, such as passing or juggling balls between players, balancing or spinning balls on their fingertips, and making unusually difficult shots.
In 1952, the Globetrotters invited Louis "Red" Klotz to create a team to accompany them on their tours. This team, the Washington Generals (who also played under various other names), became the Globetrotters' primary opponents. The Generals are effectively stooges for the Globetrotters, with the Globetrotters handily defeating them in thousands of games.
In 1959, Saperstein received an invitation from Vasily Grigoryevich, the director of Lenin Central Stadium, and the Globetrotters played nine games in Moscow. The team, which included Wilt Chamberlain, was welcomed enthusiastically by spectators and authorities, and they met Premier Nikita Khrushchev and collectively received the Athletic Order of Lenin medal.
According to one report titled "Russians Baffled by Harlem Fun", however, spectators were initially confused: "A Soviet audience of 14,000 sat almost silently, as if in awe, 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" but praised the Globetrotters' skills and suggested that "they have some techniques to show us".
The American press—particularly Drew Pearson—made note of the fact that the Globetrotters were paid (per game) the equivalent of $4,000 (equivalent to $44,000 in 2025) by the Soviet government, which could be spent only in Moscow. The games were used as evidence that U.S.–Russian relations were improving, that Moscow was backing off its propaganda campaign aimed at American race relations, and that the Russian society was becoming more capitalist (Pearson suggested that the games were held because Lenin Stadium needed money).
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Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, the Globetrotters have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and territories, mostly against deliberately ineffective opponents, such as the Washington Generals (1953–1995, 2007–2015, 2017–present) and the New York Nationals (1995–2006). The team's signature song is Brother Bones' whistled version of "Sweet Georgia Brown", and their mascot is an anthropomorphized globe named "Globie". The team is owned by Herschend.
The Harlem Globetrotters originated in 1926 at the Giles American Legion Post #87, on the South Side of Chicago, where all the original players were raised and went to Wendell Phillips High school in 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 and the name Globetrotter to mythologize the team's international venues.
The Globetrotters were perennial participants in the World Professional Basketball Tournament, winning it all in its second year in 1940. In a heavily attended matchup a few years later, the 1948 Globetrotters–Lakers game, the Globetrotters made headlines when they beat one of the best white basketball teams in the country, the Minneapolis Lakers. 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), particularly when NBA teams began recruiting black players in the 1950s. In 1950, Harlem Globetrotter Chuck Cooper became the first black player to be drafted in the NBA by Boston, and 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 (equivalent to $167,000 in 2025).
The Globetrotters gradually worked comic routines into their act—a direction the team has credited to Reece "Goose" Tatum, who joined in 1941—and eventually became known more for entertainment than sports. The Globetrotters' acts often feature incredible coordination and skillful handling of one or more basketballs, such as passing or juggling balls between players, balancing or spinning balls on their fingertips, and making unusually difficult shots.
In 1952, the Globetrotters invited Louis "Red" Klotz to create a team to accompany them on their tours. This team, the Washington Generals (who also played under various other names), became the Globetrotters' primary opponents. The Generals are effectively stooges for the Globetrotters, with the Globetrotters handily defeating them in thousands of games.
In 1959, Saperstein received an invitation from Vasily Grigoryevich, the director of Lenin Central Stadium, and the Globetrotters played nine games in Moscow. The team, which included Wilt Chamberlain, was welcomed enthusiastically by spectators and authorities, and they met Premier Nikita Khrushchev and collectively received the Athletic Order of Lenin medal.
According to one report titled "Russians Baffled by Harlem Fun", however, spectators were initially confused: "A Soviet audience of 14,000 sat almost silently, as if in awe, 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" but praised the Globetrotters' skills and suggested that "they have some techniques to show us".
The American press—particularly Drew Pearson—made note of the fact that the Globetrotters were paid (per game) the equivalent of $4,000 (equivalent to $44,000 in 2025) by the Soviet government, which could be spent only in Moscow. The games were used as evidence that U.S.–Russian relations were improving, that Moscow was backing off its propaganda campaign aimed at American race relations, and that the Russian society was becoming more capitalist (Pearson suggested that the games were held because Lenin Stadium needed money).