Basketball has the Globetrotters. Baseball has the Savannah Bananas. Do any other sports have "joke" teams?

[Munch]

@HeyHomie

Is it played straight, or played for laughs, like the Bananas?

As a member of the Bananaball League’s K-Club since 2022, I have to object. While Bananaball is absolutely entertaining, it’s not just played for laughs. It’s competitive - these guys (and gals) absolutely want to win, and the outcome is definitely not scripted.

@Zakalwe

On the downside, their charity (Bananas Foster - supporting foster families) has faced scrutiny about the use of funds.

I know I’m a bit biased, but I do believe this was a case of those involved being in above their heads, and not getting the right personnel looking at the books. I hope to see them right the ship - the Coles are excellent advocates for the foster community.

[Moriarty]

@Superdude

I remember Steve Trachsel being referred to as “The Human Rain Delay” because of how long he would take between pitches.

That nickname was originally given to Mike Hargrove.

His nickname says it all: The Human Rain Delay. In the years before seemingly every big-league ballplayer stepped out of the box after every pitch to go through a routine of incessant equipment adjusting, Mike Hargrove was an anomaly and drove pitchers, managers, fans, and even broadcasters mad.

“With machine-like precision,” wrote Bob Sudyk, "Hargrove approaches the plate, calls time, grabs some dirt, taps at his pants, sleeves, hitches up his waistband, adjusts his hair, taps down his helmet, squeezes his hand deeper into his batting glove, drains all the moisture from his mouth and steps in after raking some dirt in the batter’s box with his cleats."1

The origins of Hargrove’s routine are innocent. After damaging a nerve at the base of his left thumb as a minor leaguer, in 1973, he devised a sponge doughnut ring to minimize the pain.

“It was hard to break in,” Hargrove once explained, "and if I didn’t screw it down my thumb, it would fly off."2

He claimed his preparation helped him concentrate, but he also admitted candidly, "I wouldn’t like to pitch to myself. … If it also bothers the pitcher, well and good. Maybe he’ll hang a curve."3

Mike Hargrove – Society for American Baseball Research

[RickJay]

There was a Globetrotters style hockey team called the Flying Fathers who were a team actual Catholic priests who played comically silly hockey against hapless “opponents” to raise money for charity. They toured for decades, and were actually a terrific show. The highlight was always Sister Mary, one of the priests in a nun’s outfit who would cross check opponents and start a massive fight.

[Superdude]

I was born in 1973. Mike Hargrove was a little before I started watching the game.

[RickJay]

@Superdude

Mike Hargrove was a little before I started watching the game.

If Hargrove had played in the 1990s and 2000s you’d never have noticed he was slow getting into the box. By that point, he would not have been in the top 100 of game-delaying hitters.

[Robot_Arm]

@Llama_Llogophile

Supposedly when Stengal went out to argue the umpire said, “I hate to tell you this Casey, but he missed second base too.”

“Well I know he touched third because he’s standing on it!”

[Q.Q.Switcheroo]

@RickJay

a Globetrotters style hockey team

also figures prominently in the eminently forgettable Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice.

[Spoons]

@kenobi_65

Fast-pitch men’s softball had Eddie Feigner, whose four-man barnstorming team was called “The King and His Court.” They traveled the U.S. (and the world), playing against local teams, and mixed in trick plays and banter along with typically dominating their competition.

I remember The King and His Court. I never got to see them play, but I remember reading about them in a magazine in the early 1970s. That they played with only four players fascinated me, and I hoped they’d come through town sometime. Sadly, every time they did, something got in the way of being able to go to their game.

[Mahaloth]

@kenobi_65

Fast-pitch men’s softball had Eddie Feigner, whose four-man barnstorming team was called “The King and His Court.” They traveled the U.S. (and the world), playing against local teams, and mixed in trick plays and banter along with typically dominating their competition.

Thanks. I thought of this as well. Man, nobody could be that four-person team. It’s insane how fast he pitched.

I have a very strangely related story about that. When I was a kid, I went to a camp and the guy there told us a story. He batted against that team. I don’t know if the “Dad” guy was pitching, but whoever was pitching…the ball hit the speaker at my camp right in the head.

He thought he was dead meat. He ended up with metal in his head to help rebuild his skull.

I believe I’m remembering that story correctly. If I do, I have no idea how he wasn’t wearing a helmet facing these guys.

[nearwildheaven]

Back in the 1980s, Paul Hunt did his thing as a gymnast, a decade after he competed himself. Here’s an example.

Paul Hunt Gymnastic Comedy Routine 1983

[Robot_Arm]

I vaguely recall reading about an auto racing team, probably UOP Shadow, bringing their car into the pits while it was leading a race and then washing it. Can’t find anything online to confirm that.

There was also a case during the gold medal game in men’s curling at the 2018 Olympics. Sweden were down by three points with only a few stones left to play. Niklas Edin, the Swedish skip, made his delivery by spinning in a full circle before releasing the stone. He then stood up and shook hands with the other team, conceding the gold medal to the U.S. Edin just announced his retirement a few weeks ago; he was a fantastic player.

[Kent_Clark]

@Wendell_Wagner

The original idea of the Globetrotters was partly that Blacks could only do anything as a joke.

The Globetrotters actually started as a barnstorming team and played white teams. They started out as a serious team playing seriously, but they were so good they became boring, so added comedy bits to keep the crowd entertained. But in 1948 they played the (then) Minneapolis Lakers in an exhibition, and won with a buzzer-beater.

Two years later the NBA integrated. As the novelty of watching Black men play really good basketball wore off, the Globetrotters became all comedy.

[RickJay]

@Kent_Clark

Two years later the NBA integrated. As the novelty of watching Black men play really good basketball wore off, the Globetrotters became all comedy.

If the existing Globetrotters ever folded, they should move some struggling NBA team to Harlem (I do realize building an arena in Manhattan would be stupidly expensive) and call them that, because, honestly, it’s a terrific name.

When I was a kid the Globetrotters were a more visible thing in popular culture, for some reason.

[Skywatcher]

@RickJay

When I was a kid the Globetrotters were a more visible thing in popular culture, for some reason.

Maybe because they were on Wide World of Sports once a year from '81 to '91, plus occasional appearances in the Seventies and a retrospective in '93. WWoS ended in '97.

[Elmer_J.Fudd]

When I was a kid in the early 1970’s, the Globetrotters had their own Saturday morning cartoon

[HeyHomie]

They also had guest appearances on Scooby Doo and a Gilligan’s Island TV movie.

[Telemark]

In 1974-75 they had a live action variety show on Saturday mornings.

[Skywatcher]

@Elmer_J.Fudd

When I was a kid in the early 1970’s, the Globetrotters had their own Saturday morning cartoon

I barely remember that, likely because it only had one season – which got repeated twice.

[Elmer_J.Fudd]

The Globetrotters and Evil Knievel were the center of the “sports” universe for me and my friends. I think both reached their pop culture acme in the 1970s.

[f.coli]

There’s no “clown” hockey team as far as I know, but several years ago a bunch of retired players played a clownish exhibition, featuring several players throwing sticks on the ice during a penalty shot to obstruct the skater (in a game, each stick thrown would require an additional penalty shot) and the goaltender lifting the net off the ice and turning the open side against the wall.