African Americans were not allowed to play in the NBA in 1926.
The Globetrotters began on Chicago’s South Side as the Savoy Big Five. They played exhibition basketball games at The Savoy Ballroom to draw crowds before the dances. By 1929 they were travelling across the Midwest performing exhibition games under the branded name The NY Harlem Globetrotters.
Basketball would not look the same today without this team. The Globetrotters invented the Forward position and the Point Guard position, the fast-break, and the slam dunk. They won their games so often and so easily that they began performing tricks to alleviate boredom. These tricks and stunts that were often meant to poke fun at the opposition became the players’ trademark performances.
On February 19, 1948, they faced one of the best teams in the NBA, The Minnesota Lakers, at Chicago Stadium. Marques Haynes teased the Lakers by dribbling the ball while lying down. At game’s end, he threw a pass to Ermer Robinson, who sunk a 30-footer to win the game, The Globetrotters’ victory was featured on sports pages across the country. Two years later, Nat Clinton from the Harlem Globetrotters was recruited by the New York Knicks, becoming the first African-American to play for the NBA. Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain, who still holds numerous national records, started with the Globetrotters out of college in 1958 before signing with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959 and becoming the highest paid player in the NBA.
The Harlem Globetrotters continue to break molds and defy expectations. In 1985, Olympian Lynette Woodard became the first of several female Globetrotters. Brothers Jahmani “Hot Shot” Swanson and Justin “X-Over” Tompkins are the smallest Globetrotters thus far at 4’5” and 4’6”.
Music Du Jour: The Globetrotters Album
Films Du Jour:
- Harlem Globetrotters: The Team that Changed the World (2005)
- Play it Forward (2022) Harlem Globetrotters series on NBC
- Scooby-Doo Meets the Harlem Globetrotters (2003)
- The SuperTrotters (1979)
- Hardwood (2005)
- The Harlem Globetrotters Movie (1951)
- America’s Court Jesters (1999)
Miscellaneous:
- Buy tickets and meet the team
- The Harlem Globetrotters Saturday morning cartoon had 22 episodes from 1970 to 1972
- The Female Stars of the Globetrotters
- Globetrotters Jersey
- Patriotic sweatbands
- 2 on 2 – small vs. tall
- Globetrotters Trick Shots and a tutorial with kids
- 18 Guinness Book World Records achieved in two days
Snacks du Jour: Concessions snacks like burgers, tacos, corndogs, and cheesesteaks, or make your own Basket Cake Balls
Cocktail Du Jour – Sweet Georgia Brown
- 3 oz. tequila
- 5 oz. triple sec
- 1 oz. cranberry juice
- 1 splash grenadine
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker and pour over ice in a tall glass over ice. Garnish with a cherry.
Mocktail Du Jour – Sweet Georgia Brown Mocktail
- 3 oz. Ritual Zero Proof Tequila Alternative
- 5 oz. orange syrup
- 1 oz. cranberry juice
- 1 splash grenadine
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker and pour over ice in a tall glass over ice. Garnish with a cherry.
Beer Du Jour
Globetrotter Black Lager or any dunkel brew
Wine Du Jour
Globetrotter Red Wine or Cara Mello Lemon
Use freshly squeezed citrus in your cocktails and mocktails when called for – It makes such a difference! Here’s a reliable and inexpensive juicer.
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“Harlem Globetrotters” by Doha Stadium Plus is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
