Though it might be hard for people under 40 to comprehend now, the barnstorming, showboating, trick-shot artists were a ubiquitous small-screen presence for more than a decade. In , they became the first athletic team to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Already a subscriber? Log In. Subscribe now to get full access to the new sports page. Must read content, player grades, stuff you can't get anywhere else. View Plans Already a subscriber?
Log in. Subscribe Now. Continue reading this story Already have an account? Create a free account to read 3 articles on us. Basketball was the only major sport produced by American society along with basketball and American football that successfully crossed the Atlantic. Founded in Chicago in , it had the distinctive feature of consisting exclusively of black players, who were de facto excluded from professional leagues. During the interwar period, African-Americans from the Great Lakes states and the Northeastern United States appropriated the sport, which was essentially urban at the time.
The fame of black players on playgrounds surpassed that of whites on the parquet floors of gymnasiums, especially in New York where the summer festival organized by the black neighborhood of Harlem was extremely popular. The tours he organized from to always began on the other side of the Mississippi, and followed the same pattern. The Harlem Globetrotters squared off against a selection of the best white university players, the College All-Stars, in hardly-fought matches.
When victory was assured in the final minutes, the Harlems amused the public with all kinds of clowning around that displayed their skill handling the ball. When they arrived in Europe, the two teams recruited by Saperstein—the whites were renamed the American All-Stars—played local groups at each of the stops, before playing against each other. In May , the European journey began in Portugal and continued in six other countries France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, FRG, and Great Britain ; the 73 matches played in a little over two months drew tens of thousands of spectators.
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It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The Harlem Globetrotters. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject Read More. The Globetrotters were the creation of Abe Saperstein of Chicago, who took over coaching duties for a team of African American players originally known as the Savoy Big Five after the famous Chicago ballroom where they played their early games.
The Globetrotters won out of games that first season and introduced many Midwestern audiences to a game they had not seen played before. As owner, coach, manager, publicist and sometimes even substitute player, Saperstein worked overtime to book games for his team. Their first national championship appearance came in , when the Globetrotters lost to the New York Renaissance.
That same year, the team began to add the silly antics they later became known for, including ball handling tricks and on-court comedic routines. The crowds loved it, and Saperstein told his team to keep up the clowning around, but only when they had achieved a solid lead.
By this time, the Globetrotters were actively touring on the international circuit, playing to audiences in post-war Berlin, Eastern Europe and Russia, among other places; they even performed once for Pope Pius XII in Rome. Reaching the height of their fame in the s, the Globetrotters began to lose fans during the next decade, after the departure of such longtime stars as Meadowlark Lemmon.
In , Olympic gold medalist Lynette Woodard became the first female Globetrotter. Over the years, the Harlem Globetrotters have played in more than countries in front of million fans.
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