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N0KFQ > TODAY 07.01.14 17:38l 75 Lines 3576 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Jan 7
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Sent: 140107/1555Z 10016@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.57
Jan 7, 1927:
Harlem Globetrotters play their first game
On January 7, 1927, the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team
travels 48 miles west from Chicago to play their first game in
Hinckley, Illinois.
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). At a time
when only whites were allowed to play on professional basketball
teams, Saperstein decided to promote his new team's racial makeup
by naming them after Harlem, the famous African-American
neighborhood of New York City. The son of a tailor, Saperstein
sewed their red, white and blue uniforms (emblazoned with the
words "New York") himself. The lineup in that first game, for
which the Globetrotters were paid $75, was Walter "Toots" Wright,
Byron "Fat" Long, Willis "Kid" Oliver, Andy Washington and Al
"Runt" Pullins.
The Globetrotters won 101 out of 117 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. By 1936, they had played more than 1,000 games and
appeared in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Montana,
Washington and North and South Dakota. (The Globetrotters didn't
actually play a game in Harlem until the late 1960s.) Their first
national championship appearance came in 1939, 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.
In 1948, the Globetrotters earned a new measure of respect by
beating the Minneapolis Lakers of the newly established National
Basketball Association (NBA). Two years later, the NBA lifted its
"whites only" ban and began to draft black players, forcing
Saperstein to compete for his talent. 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. Some of the Globetrotters who went on to become
NBA stars include Wilt Chamberlain, Connie Hawkins and Nat
Clifton.
After Saperstein's death in 1966, the team was sold to a group of
Chicago businessmen for $3.7 million; they later sold it to Metro
Media for $11 million. Reaching the height of their fame in the
1970s, the Globetrotters began to lose fans during the next
decade, after the departure of such longtime stars as Meadowlark
Lemmon. In 1985, Olympic gold medalist Lynette Woodard became the
first female Globetrotter.
Over the years, the Harlem Globetrotters have played in more than
115 countries in front of 120 million fans. They have been the
subject of two feature films and numerous television shows,
including two animated series in the 1970s. In honor of their
entertainment value, the team was awarded a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame and made the subject of a permanent exhibit at the
Smithsonian Institute. Their pioneering history and considerable
athletic skill over the years was honored in 2002, when they were
inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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