The Harlem Globetrotters basketball team has been entertaining millions of fans around the world since 1926. They excelled at basketball long before the NBA was even created.
The players have almost always been African American men.
Among the most famous team members were Meadowlark Lemon, Goose Tatum, Fred Neal, and NBA Hall of Fame star Wilt Chamberlain.
Their founder was a 5’3” London-born Jewish man named Abe Saperstein.
1948-49: The Minneapolis Lakers (before they moved to Los Angeles) were back-to-back NBA Champs. The Globetrotters legitimately beat them twice.
Although every player was (and is) highly skilled, the outcome of Globetrotters’ games became predictable and staged. It was, and primarily still is, show business.
Routines included their famous weave, impressive dribbling, no-look passing, and the bucket of confetti.
Since 1952, their rivals have almost always been the Washington Generals, although they’ve used a variety of names throughout the years, including the New Jersey Reds. The names were never important because nobody went to see the opponents.
Their only real purpose is to be the Globetrotters’ foils. But the opponents always needed to look authentic, so the Generals played well every game. Still, as required, they always lose.
Well, not always. There were exceptions.
Little has been recorded about the Generals’ victories. Some claims say that they’ve won six times - out of tens of thousands of games.
But only 3 are recognized. Two occurred in the 1950s. The most infamous victory - and the most recent - happened in 1971.
It was kind of an accident.
January 5, 1971: In the small university town of Martin, Tennessee, the Globetrotters took on the New Jersey Reds (although the Generals take credit).
The game commenced with the usual athletic agility and slapstick routines. Yet some of the comedy bits went missing.
The Generals were playing better than the Globetrotters that night. They had a sizable lead in the fourth quarter. But hardly anyone noticed, because with the Globetrotters the score is an afterthought.
Gradually, though, the Globetrotters realized they were losing and made a comeback.
Then Red Klotz, the 50-year-old Reds/Generals player, lofted a jump shot. It went in. Whether or not he meant to hit it or miss it was never clear.
That made the score 100-99 in favor of the opponents with only three seconds left.
Meadowlark Lemon, the longtime Globetrotter star, received the ball. The Generals stepped aside and put up no defense. Lemon hoisted one of his trademark hook shots. It was a routine he’d perfected. He’d sunk that shot thousands of times.
But he missed.
The referee tried to stop the clock, but it was too late.
The Globetrotters lost.
Children in the stands wept. Adults booed.
Afterward, Red Klotz said it was like they had “killed Santa Claus.”
That loss was bad for business. And it hasn’t happened a second time in over 50 years.
As a result, it’s highly unlikely that the Washington Generals will ever again defeat the Harlem Globetrotters.
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