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Miami Herald
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Harlem Globetrotters celebrating nearly 100 years of basketball
The legendary Harlem Globetrotters are officially counting down to their 100th anniversary with the unveiling of a striking new Centennial logo, symbolizing their rich legacy of sports, entertainment, and cultural impact. Designed by the award-winning Matt Lehman Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, the new logo was crafted to reflect the Globetrotters' historic roots while projecting a bold, unified vision for the future. The design will serve as the creative cornerstone of the Globetrotters' Centennial celebration, set for 2026. "We wanted to find the balance of past, present, and future in a fresh new look that was both unique and exciting, whilst paying homage to the many men and women players that have honored us as Globetrotters," said Keith Dawkins, President of the Harlem Globetrotters and Herschend Entertainment Studios. "This mark will connect all of the consumer touchpoints centered around our 100-year anniversary plans." The new Centennial logo features key elements that pay tribute to the Globetrotters' legacy: Red, white, and blue color scheme, echoing the team's signature basketball and stars representing the original five Globetrotters: Walter "Toots" Wright, Byron "Fat" Long, Willis "Kid" Oliver, Andy Washington, and Al "Runt" "1926" and "2026" prominently displayed to signify the founding and the upcoming anniversary.A 3D-style block font, inspired by lettering used in vintage game programs, a beloved collectible among Globetrotter iconic red, white, and blue ball featured at the center, symbolizing the enduring connection between past, present, and future. As the team celebrates its 100th year, the Harlem Globetrotters continue to honor and elevate talent from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)-a tradition woven into the franchise's long-standing mission. Several current Globetrotters hail from HBCU programs: Prince Moss, a standout from Grambling State UniversityAngelo Sharpless, who starred at Elizabeth City State UniversityCrash McClure, formerly of Albany State University In addition to today's players, HBCUs have played a role in shaping some of the franchise's most beloved legends. Among them was the iconic Fred "Curly" Neal, a former All-CIAA player at Johnson C. Smith University, who enjoyed a long and celebrated career with the Globetrotters, dazzling fans with his unmatched ball-handling skills and warm charisma. The Harlem Globetrotters plan to roll out a full slate of commemorative activities leading into 2026. These include: Strategic partnerships and brand collaborationsLimited-edition Centennial memorabiliaExclusive media content and storytellingSpecial live events and community engagement programs Fans worldwide can expect announcements in the coming weeks as the team builds excitement for its once-in-a-century milestone. The post Harlem Globetrotters celebrating nearly 100 years of basketball appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
New York Times
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Harlem Globetrotters' Mount Rushmore: Goose, Marques, Meadowlark and Curly
(Editor's note: This week, in honor of Black History Month, The Athletic will highlight the Harlem Globetrotters and their contributions to basketball, vision for entertainment and overall commitment to goodwill. This series will conclude Sunday, Feb. 16.) Before he had a 17-year career with the Harlem Globetrotters, James 'Twiggy' Sanders was a forward at Johnson C. Smith University, a star in the CIAA during the 1970s. He graduated from the Charlotte, N.C., HBCU in 1974. Sanders was one of two former JCSU standouts to put on a Globetrotters uniform. During his time in college, he met a man already with an established Globetrotters career — a bald guy who loved the spotlight and truly appreciated fan interaction. Advertisement Fred 'Curly' Neal played 22 seasons with the Globetrotters, from 1963 to 1985. He starred at JCSU from 1959 to 1963, but decided to go back to school a decade later to finish earning his bachelor's degree credits. 'I met him in summer school, and we became friends. Little did I know that we would become teammates one day,' Sanders told The Athletic. 'Poor guy could hardly go to class with people wanting autographs. But he was determined to get that degree.' When basketball fans hear Curly Neal's name, they immediately think of the Globetrotters, as they were, and are, an American institution. They were vital to the economic survival of the NBA in the 1950s and '60s, a highly visible, comforting part of the landscape for decades with their frequent appearances on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' 'CBS Sports Spectacular' and ABC's 'Wide World of Sports.' That doesn't include having their own show, 'The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine,' and a Saturday-morning cartoon. The biggest individual stars from among the dozens of men and women who've put on the iconic Globetrotters uniform over the last century had to successfully sublimate their basketball talents in order to entertain. 'I didn't know anything about being funny,' Neal told The New York Times in 1983. But like many who put on the Globetrotters jersey, he adapted, burying his hoop abilities to get laughs from paying customers. Ultimately, Neal took over one of the Globetrotters' most important set pieces — the 'dribbling job' — from the legendary Marques Haynes. A generation earlier, Haynes dazzled audiences with his incredible ability to control the ball. Standing up, lying down, on one knee, Haynes couldn't be separated from the rock. Neal and Haynes shared the spotlight with the Globetrotters' two primary ringmasters, Reece 'Goose' Tatum and Meadowlark Lemon. Like Neal, Lemon had a hard act to follow. Tatum was the Globetrotters' first individual superstar, a two-sport virtuoso who came up as a first baseman in the Negro Leagues, played both pro baseball and basketball before and during World War II, then focused solely on hoops. Advertisement The NBA began integrating in 1950, over the fierce objections of Globetrotters impresario Abe Saperstein, who wanted to keep the best players in their pipeline. By the 1960s, the Globetrotters, out of necessity, leaned full-bore into comedy. The show became more important than the final score — and the concept worked. At the height of their popularity, they were on the road more than 300 nights a year, selling out venues around the world and often drawing more than 3 million fans to their games yearly. 'One game we played in Athens, Greece, we had 90,000 people,' Nate Branch, who played on the team from 1967 to 1983, told The Athletic. Wilt Chamberlain, Connie Hawkins and Nat 'Sweetwater' Clifton were NBA players who had short but important stints with the Globetrotters. But if you were building a Mount Rushmore of Globetrotters, Tatum, Lemon, Haynes and Neal would be on it — with 'Sweet Georgia Brown' playing on an endless loop in the background. Collectively, the quartet played Globetrotters basketball for more than 70 years. The team actually was created in Chicago, not Harlem, in 1926. By the early 1930s, the Globetrotters were playing 150 games a year, and throughout the decade, they continued to be among the best traveling teams in the country. In 1940, they won the World Professional Basketball Championship, defeating the Chicago Bruins, a team formed by Chicago Bears owner George Halas. GO DEEPER The Harlem Globetrotters: 99 years of basketball, variety and 'Showtime' The next year, a gangly player from El Dorado, Ark., tried out for the Globetrotters. Goose Tatum had scuffled around on Black touring baseball teams in the south before finding a team in the Birmingham Black Barons and a position — first base — that suited his skill set. Tatum had a flair, even as a young man, for making people laugh. 'One of the nicest guys in the world,' Haynes said in an interview for Voices of Oklahoma, an oral history series by the Oklahoma Historical Society. 'Many times, he'd catch people in the streets, you know? A guy with cans for (collecting) money. Maybe the guy's blind, maybe the guy's not blind, but he's playing the part. And Goose was always one to give him some money. And he would tell him, 'Come on, follow me; I'll get you something to eat.' He was a good guy.' Our No. 50 is retired for Goose Tatum! One of the greatest basketball players of his era, Tatum set the bar for what it means to be a Globetrotters' showman. He was posthumously enshrined to the @Hoophall in 2011 for being an African-American Pioneer of the game! #RetiredNumbers — Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) April 6, 2021 Tatum already was well steeped in on-field antics. He became a solid first baseman but also could catch balls behind his back. He'd started his baseball career with the Indianapolis Clowns, which had originated in Miami in 1935 as the Miami Giants before relocating north. The Clowns actually wore clown outfits and face paint on the field as they played. Advertisement The Indianapolis team's routine was hard for some Black people to swallow. Wendell Smith, the venerated sports columnist for the Black-owned Pittsburgh Courier who helped lead the crusade for Major League Baseball to end the banning of Black players from the majors, wrote of the Clowns in 1942: 'This aggregation travels around the country capitalizing on slapstick comedy and the kind of nonsense which many White people like to believe is typical and characteristic of all Negroes.' But Tatum rose above the criticism. He studied comics and clowns in Vaudeville acts, coming to understand the pace and timing needed to successfully sell a comic bit. Harlem Globetrotters taken to a whole new level and on a baseball field. Reece 'Goose' Tatum of the Indianapolis Clowns is number 15 and this is filmed at Crosley Field.@nlbmprez — BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) July 28, 2021 After serving at Lincoln Army Airfield in Nebraska during World War II, he returned to baseball and basketball, playing for both the Clowns and the Globetrotters. But it soon became apparent that basketball was his calling. At 6-foot-3, Tatum was tall for baseball, and he soon got good enough with a basketball to play effectively. But his superpower was his ability to improvise, to take a specific move or bit and turn it into something hilarious on the floor. During his lengthy career, the Globetrotters began to turn more toward entertainment, rather than competition. Often, his teammates didn't even know what he was going to do. He would play wearing a hat, with a cigar in his mouth or wearing a hula skirt. 'He got in the pivot and started making those gangly, crazy moves with that skirt on, and people were laughing so hard they were crying,' Haynes told Sports Illustrated's William Nack in 1985. 'He had players on the bench falling over each other. You laughed at Goose just looking at him.' Tatum played 14 years for the Globetrotters before leaving the team in 1955. He was one of the centerpieces of the team's triumphant tours of Europe and Africa in 1950, a visit with Pope Pius XII in 1951 and a world tour in '52. Advertisement Tatum died on Jan. 18, 1967, at 45. A coroner said he died of natural causes. The Globetrotters' greatest comedian had left the stage, far too young. 'He's the best I've seen in all of my years and of all the guys I've played with or seen perform in this type of basketball,' Haynes told SI. 'No one will ever match him. You laugh at him now just thinking about him.' Born in Sand Springs, Okla., in 1926, Marques Haynes was introduced to basketball by his older sister, Cecil, who played on her high school team. Cecil taught him how to shoot, but it was his older brother, Wendell, who started him on the path to becoming a legendary dribbler. As he grew older, Marques would practice dribbling with tennis balls, bouncing them up and down railroad tracks near his home. Haynes played college ball at Langston University in Oklahoma. In four years, he led the HBCU school to a 112-3 record, including a 59-game winning streak, and two conference championships. In 1946, Haynes' senior season, he first encountered the Globetrotters. They were scheduled to play an exhibition game in Oklahoma City. But the opponent canceled. The Globetrotters contacted Langston through their coach, Zip Gayles, and Langston's team traveled the 40-plus miles from campus to Oklahoma City. Haynes scored 26 points, as Langston beat the Globetrotters by four. Following the game, Globetrotters road manager Winfield Welch offered Haynes a job on the spot. But Haynes had promised his mother he'd graduate from college, and he held off joining the Globetrotters until after he earned his degree. After a brief time playing for the Kansas City Stars, the Globetrotters' developmental team, Haynes joined the Globetrotters in 1947. Before there could be a Steph or Kyrie, there was Marques Haynes. Shout-out to a legend! #TBT #BHM — Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) February 28, 2019 NBA owners then would package the Globetrotters to play in their city as a part of a doubleheader with their teams to increase the latter's gate. But they soon noticed people leaving after the first game featuring the Globetrotters, before the NBA game. So, they flipped the order, playing the NBA game first to keep fans in seats for the nightcap with the more popular Globetrotters. Advertisement Haynes was electric on the floor. He was instrumental in some of the Globetrotters' biggest victories — and perhaps the biggest. In 1948, the team played the Minneapolis Lakers at Chicago Stadium. The Lakers were led by George Mikan, who'd go on to become the NBA's first superstar. (This game actually preceded the formation of the NBA; the Lakers, at the time, played in the Basketball Association of America.) The teams went back and forth, and with a minute and a half remaining, the score was tied at 59. 'It was time for Haynes to display his talents, as the Trotters' main magician kept the ball and dribbled down the clock,' basketball historian Stew Thornley wrote in his recap of the game. 'With seconds remaining, he flipped the ball to Ermer Robinson, who unleashed a long set shot as the final buzzer sounded. The ball swished through the basket, but did he get the shot off in time? 'One timer said yes, the other said no, but the final ruling went against the Lakers, and the Globetrotters had pulled out an incredible 61-59 victory.' The teams met again the following year. Minneapolis was now in the newly formed NBA and still had the mighty Mikan. But Clifton neutralized Mikan, and the Globetrotters took control of the game by the start of the fourth quarter. It was then when Haynes once again put on a show. 'Holding the ball on the wing, he wound up like he was going to throw the ball cross court, then spun around in a complete circle and caught the ball behind him,' author Ben Green wrote in 'Spinning the Globe,' his exhaustive book about the Globetrotters. 'The crowd roared. A moment later, he launched into his full-blown dribbling routine. First, while strutting around like a banty rooster, he dribbled the ball higher than his head, then ran in place, dribbling no higher than his shoelaces; then, he raced a few paces to his right, slid down on one knee, actually crawled on his hands and knees, leaped up and ran three feet the other way, stopped, reversed direction, backed up, lurched forward, repeated that twice more, almost too quickly to see, then spun around in a circle and ran all the way across the court.' Advertisement Haynes starred with the team until 1953, when he left in a contract dispute with Saperstein. Returning to the Globetrotters for a second stint in 1972, he served as a player and coach until 1979. In 1998, he was the first Globetrotter to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He lived in Texas until his death in 2015. In 1998, Marques Haynes became the 1st player ever to be inducted into the @Hoophall as a Globetrotter. Considered by many as the greatest dribbler of all-time, he played in more than 12,000 games & entertained fans in nearly 100 countries! 🌎 #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM — Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) February 26, 2020 'It makes me feel good that they remember,' Haynes told Nack. 'People say they saw me play when they were 10! Their fathers and their grandfathers had brought them out, and now they have their kids with them. I've always loved the sport. I still love it. The game itself. The beauty of it. The way it was meant to be played. A game of togetherness. Like a piece of machinery. Those fellas are still out there with me. It was a bond.' Meadowlark Lemon was in shape throughout his adult life, as much as he played the game that brought him fame and fortune. But he didn't have the body of a world-class athlete. His jersey was a little tight. He had a slightly receding hairline. He looked like the neighbor dad who worked out in his garage and always had a joke to tell while picking up the morning paper. But on his stage, Lemon put on a show. 'I've had a good run. I've had a great run. It's been wonderful,' Lemon said during his induction speech into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. Incredible long-range hooks, ballhandling and passing — and, most memorably, his comic styling — made the 'Clown Prince of Basketball' a household face as the Globetrotters came into America's living rooms in the 1960s and '70s. And he reveled in his space, even as the turbulent civil rights movement of the '60s and decade-long national turmoil made it harder for the Globetrotters to continue their smiling, laughing routines without facing scrutiny. Opponents remembered Lemon in his No. 36 jersey. He took the court with the Globetrotters more than 10,000 times, spanning almost a quarter of a century. And those fans, like him, dismissed the notion that the team's on-court antics crossed the line from comedy to minstrelsy, as many critics had opined over the years. Advertisement 'When you go to the Ice Capades, you see all these beautiful skaters, and then you see the clown come out on the ice, stumbling and pretending like he can hardly stay up on his skates, just to make you laugh,' Lemon told Sports Illustrated in 2010. 'A lot of times, that clown is the best skater of the bunch.' Lemon first tried out for the Globetrotters, whom he'd wanted to play for since childhood, in 1954 in Germany, where he was stationed in the Army after World War II. After a stint with the Stars, he joined the Globetrotters for good in 1955. He quickly took over Tatum's place as the center of the show. And the new boss, like the old boss, had ambition. 'Goose was a comic genius, an original, while Meadowlark was a clone,' Green wrote in his book. 'Meadowlark was a great technician and a talented imitator, but he had little spontaneity or improvisational feel. It was all purely derivative from Goose's legacy.' But Lemon could make people laugh just as much as Tatum. His routines during games were well-rehearsed and rarely veered off-script. Additionally, Lemon was reliable for the TV networks that couldn't have someone improvising and finishing their routines late. A post shared by Dr. Curley 'Boo' Johnson (@ Lemon wasn't interested in going to the NBA.'I had my niche,' Lemon said in an HBO 'Real Sports' profile in 2001. Part of the reason was that Lemon was the highest-paid player on the Globetrotters during most of his time there. 'Meadowlark became my best friend,' Branch said. 'I'm a musician now. I play piano at my church, and Meadowlark loved to sing. The Globetrotters paid me some extra money to keep him pacified with his singing. He'd call me at 1 in the morning when he found out the hotel had a ballroom with a piano in it. I'd go down and rehearse with him. We became so close that if he went out shopping to get some food or some toiletries, he'd buy two sets, and bring me one. And I would do the same for him.' Advertisement But even Branch saw that there was one set of rules for Lemon, and one for everyone else. In 1971, nine Globetrotters players went on strike in Port Huron, Mich., demanding better pay, insurance, the establishment of a pension, more time off between games — and getting someone other than themselves to clean their uniforms, among other issues. The strike ended after almost a month, and more than a dozen games were canceled. But when the smoke cleared, the other Globetrotters discovered that Lemon had made his own deal with management. 'We didn't all strike,' Branch said. 'Meadowlark didn't strike.' Lemon stayed on with the Globetrotters until 1978, when ownership fired him in a contract dispute. He formed multiple touring teams — the Bucketeers, the Shooting Stars, the Harlem All-Stars — before returning to the Globetrotters for a farewell tour in 1993. He became an ordained minister in Arizona, and his Meadowlark Lemon Ministries, formed in 1994, works with youth in prisons and deals with substance abuse. Lemon was inducted into the Globetrotters Legends Ring in 2001; his jersey then being one of only five that have been retired, joining those of Wilt Chamberlain, Neal, Tatum and Haynes. Lemon died in 2015, at 83, his place in basketball history secured. 'He believed if you accepted him first on the basis of his many talents, and his integrity, and if he could make someone laugh, he would get you to listen, to believe, and to change,' Globetrotters chair and co-owner Mannie Jackson said as he introduced Lemon at the Hall of Fame ceremony. 'He did just that for 24 years. He changed people's attitudes about race. He changed foreigners' attitudes about America. And along the way, he made millions love the game of basketball.' If anyone was the perfect match of skill, showmanship and getting laughs while maintaining his dignity, it was Curly Neal, who first shaved his head when he was 12 in Greensboro, N.C., and never looked back. I love my team, and I love the game. Freddy Neal is my proper name. I'm from New York City, tell 'em where. I'm known as Curly, 'cause I got no hair. Neal's high school coach, being ironic, gave him the nickname that made him a household name. The only Curly that Neal knew was Curly from 'The Three Stooges,' but Neal didn't mind the nickname. He joined the Globetrotters right out of college, after having been a Division II all-American guard in 1963. He had NBA offers from the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, St. Louis Hawks and Baltimore Bullets and could have been part of a growing pipeline that sent multiple HBCU products — such as Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Bob Dandridge, Bob Love and Zelmo Beaty — to the league. Advertisement But an opportunity came from Saperstein: a tryout with 125 others to join the Globetrotters. Intrigued, Neal went to the tryout. 'They chose five players, and I happened to be in that lucky five,' he said in a interview in 2008. Neal didn't start with the Globetrotters as one of their featured players, but while touring in Europe, Saperstein asked Neal if he would take over after a player injury. Ballhandling originally wasn't his It wasn't his forte, and he scraped his knees over a period of weeks in honing the craft (which is why he wore his recognizable white knee pads for most of his career). But, eventually, Neal took over the job full-time, which once was immortalized by the legendary Haynes. As we continue to celebrate Black History Month we would like to highlight the great late 'Curly Neal' — Curly played 22 seasons for the Globetrotters, from 1963 to 1985 wearing #22 for all those years. One of the truly magical dribblers and shooters in basketball history. 🏀 — Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) February 5, 2025 After Neal's death in 2020, Isiah Thomas said that Neal and Haynes were instrumental in his learning how to dribble. 'I'll never forget Curly Neal and Marques Haynes dribbling that basketball,' the former Pistons guard said at his Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame induction in 2000. 'They were dribbling like they were playing the piano. I said to myself that day, 'I'm gonna learn how to do that.'' Neal also was known for the 'bucket trick.' He'd feign an argument with a teammate, culminating with Neal throwing a glass of water he'd gotten out of a nearby bucket in his teammate's face. The teammate, enraged, would grab the bucket and chase Neal down, finally tossing the bucket's contents at him. But Neal would duck, and the bucket's contents would go into the crowd. Fortunately, this bucket contained confetti and not water, a sleight of hand that never got old. A post shared by Maxwell (@inmaxwellshouse) 'Everybody loved Curly,' Branch said. 'Sometimes he'd act crazy. He had a rubber brick that looked real. He'd start an argument and then throw the fake brick at them.' He had to learn to be funny, that you couldn't break out the comedy routines until the Globetrotters were up by a few points on their opponents. They wouldn't have worked if the Globetrotters were behind. Advertisement Neal's era with the Globetrotters was their last as a television juggernaut. They were on network TV all the time, whether in their own show or starring on episodic shows like 'The Love Boat' or 'The White Shadow.' They traveled around the world — to every continent except Antarctica — with two 10-man teams that split up the travel to cover more area. They played on aircraft carriers, in empty swimming pools and in bullrings, and they entertained everywhere they played. 'Being a Globetrotter, especially during that time, was as much a responsibility as it was a job,' Neal wrote in an op-ed for USA Today in 2016. 'We weren't just entertainers. I truly believe that we helped ease many of the tensions that pulled at the country. It didn't matter if you were Black, White or whatever — laughing and enjoying our games made those barriers disappear.' The Globetrotters were a team everyone wanted to be a part of. And when they made the team, Neal served as a mentor. Neal was someone Sanders could depend on, as he and other new players got used to the grind of doing the same routine, night after night. 'He would just say, 'Every night, it's a different city.' So basically, you've got a different crowd,' Sanders said of Neal. 'They didn't see you last night; they're seeing you tonight. So, take that and draw upon that.' Neal played with the Globetrotters for two-plus decades, then served as an ambassador for the team for years thereafter. After his retirement, Neal became one of just eight Globetrotters to have their jersey retired, and he received his Globetrotters 'Legends' ring in 1993. He carried his positive message throughout the rest of his life until his death in 2020 at 77. Most of the Globetrotters had no problem signing autographs for fans, Sanders said. It was part of the job. But Neal, to the end, seemed to especially revel in his interactions with people. 'He'd always wear a hat, a nice, stylish hat,' Sanders said. 'When someone came to him and said, 'Are you Curly Neal?' he would take his hat off and rub his head and give them the biggest smile. He just beamed. He just had that charisma.' (Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; photos: Keystone-France, Gamma-Rapho, Bettman, Nixon-Express / Getty Images)
