The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and territories, mostly against deliberately ineffective opponents, such as the Washington Generals and the New York Nationals (1995–2015). The team's signature song is Brother Bones' whistled version of "Sweet Georgia Brown", and their mascot is an anthropomorphized globe named "Globie". The team is owned by Herschend Family Entertainment.
Abraham Michael Saperstein was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily before those sports were racially integrated.
Meadow Lemon III, known professionally as Meadowlark Lemon, was an American basketball player, actor, and Christian minister. For 22 years, he was known as the "Clown Prince" of the touring Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He was a 2003 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Ordained in 1986, in 1994 he started Meadowlark Lemon Ministries in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Nutter Center is a multi-purpose arena located at Wright State University, in Fairborn, Ohio. It mainly serves as the home court of the Wright State Raiders men's and women's basketball teams. It is also regularly used as a music venue for touring concerts and shows and for area high school graduation ceremonies.
Marques Haynes was an American professional basketball player and member of the Harlem Globetrotters, notable for his ability to dribble the ball and keep it away from defenders. According to the 1988 film Harlem Globetrotters: Six Decades of Magic, Haynes could dribble the ball as many as 348 times a minute.
Kendal Nathaniel "Tiny" Pinder is a Bahamian former professional basketball player. He moved to the United States as a teenager and attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Florida. Pinder played college basketball for the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, Miami Dade Sharks and NC State Wolfpack. He started his professional career with stints in Israel and Finland; he also spent three seasons with the Harlem Globetrotters.
Russell Ellington was an American basketball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Savannah State College—now known as Savannah State University—from 1976 to 1984 and Morris Brown College from 1997 to 2000, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 181–141. He also coached the Harlem Globetrotters for nine years. His titles as a coach include: four state high school basketball championships; three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAA) titles; two Region XVII Junior College championships, and one NJCCA District 10 championship.
In athletics terminology, barnstorming refers to sports teams or individual athletes who travel to various locations, usually small towns, to stage exhibition matches. The term is primarily used in the United States. Barnstorming teams differ from traveling teams in that they operate outside the framework of an established athletic league, while traveling teams are designated by a league, formally or informally, to be a designated visiting team.
Joseph Blair is an American former professional basketball player, and current assistant coach for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was formerly the Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach. Standing 2.10m tall, and weighing 120 kg, he spent his playing career playing at the positions of power forward and center. He was reputed for his spectacular playing style, most notably while he was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Joseph "Joby" Wright is an American former college and professional basketball player who was men's basketball head coach at Miami University and at the University of Wyoming. Married to Loretta Wright, August 18th 2017.
Mannie Jackson is the chairman and co-owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, for whom he played from 1962 to 1964. He was the first African American with controlling ownership in an entertainment organization and international sports team. Jackson has been heavily recognized throughout his career including an acknowledgment as one of the nation's 30 most powerful and influential black corporate executives, one of the nation's top 50 corporate strategists, and one of the 20 African-American high-net-worth entrepreneurs.
The Savannah State Tigers basketball team represents Savannah State University and competes in NCAA Division II as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference since July 2019. The Tigers play their home games in Tiger Arena on the university's Savannah, Georgia campus.
The 2009–10 Savannah State Lady Tigers basketball team competed in American basketball on behalf of Savannah State University and had a record of 9-21. The Lady Tigers were members of the NCAA Division I-AA, as an independent. The head coach was Cedric Hardy, who served his sixth year. The team played its home games at Tiger Arena in Savannah, Georgia. The Lady Tigers entered the season seeking to improve on the 9-22 record posted in the 2008-09 season.
Blaine Denning Sr. was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Lawrence Technological University and was inducted into their athletic hall of fame. He played professionally for the Harlem Globetrotters, Elmira Colonels of the American Basketball League, and Baltimore Bullets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Govoner Vaughn was a former high school, college and professional basketball player during the 1950s & 60s. Vaughn led Edwardsville High School to a fourth-place finish in the I.H.S.A. 1954 high school playoffs, as well as a second-place finish in 1956 to defending champion, Rockford West. Vaughn played in eight career state playoff games over two seasons, and his 92 points were all scored during the 1956 tournament. He, along with his teammate, Mannie Jackson, were named first-team all-tournament.
Maurice James Escovilla Shaw is a Filipino-American professional basketball player who last played for the Manila City Stars of the Pilipinas Super League. In Shaw's early years, he attended Washington Union High School in Fresno County, California. After high school, he began his professional career playing for the world famous Harlem Globetrotters, while attending Hutchinson Community College simultaneously.
Sandra Hodge is a retired basketball player who played for the University of New Orleans and Harlem Globetrotters. With New Orleans during the 1980s, her team won the 1983 National Women's Invitational Tournament. Hodge played in 107 games and had a top ten NCAA Division I points record with 2,860 points. After playing basketball in Europe for a few years, Hodge became one of the first four women to join the Globetrotters.
Larry Darnell Rivers, also known as Gator Rivers, was an American basketball player, coach, business owner, and civil servant. He performed as a dribbler for the Harlem Globetrotters from 1973 to 1986, eventually taking over the main dribbler role from Curly Neal. As player-coach during his last year with the Globetrotters, he led the team's nationwide search for their first female player.
Jackie White is an American former basketball player. She played college basketball for Louisiana State University (1980–1981), Cal Poly Pomona (1981–1983) and Cal State Long Beach (1984–1985). She later became the second woman ever to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Inman William "Big Jack" Jackson was an American professional basketball player. He was a long-time member of the Harlem Globetrotters and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
