# Harlem Globetrotters: What's the deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2001, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236 "2001-01-03T15:03:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TheMadHun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/1 "2001-01-03T15:03:57Z")
Have they ever been a professional basketball team? Have they ever competed in the NBA or any other pro league? Or are they just a touring side, a basketballing sideshow? If so, who would want to play for them? Anybody? Cheers! ---
**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/2 "2001-01-03T15:18:19Z")
This doesn’t help the OP any but they always play the Washington Colonels (I think) and I remember a few years ago the Colonels actually beat the Globetrotters. Excellent question though. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/3 "2001-01-03T15:29:02Z")
This being the Information Age, the [Harlem Globetrotters](http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com) have a website that lists their entire history, starting in 1926, when Abe Saperstein started the Globetrotters’ predecessor, the Savoy Big Five, named after the ballroom in Chicago. And, BTW, they play the Washington Generals. Robin ---
**Author:** ![King\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7bcc69/32.png) [@King\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/4 "2001-01-03T15:31:19Z")
Doesn’t answser the question, but an interesting piece of trivia: The only number they “retired” was the number worn by Wilt Chamberlain. They did this when Chamberlain died suddenly a couple of years ago. My favorites were Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon. ---
**Author:** ![TheMadHun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/5 "2001-01-03T15:33:55Z")
Thanks for that. I already visited their site. My question was prompted by my friend’s assertion that they had somehow been banned from playing in a pro league because they were “too good”. The website makes no mention of anything other than touring. Which brings me to the seond question, why would any basketball player of some degree of skill choose to play exhibition basketball? ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/6 "2001-01-03T15:36:06Z")
I recommend the site, but without looking I’m gonna take a stab at it. If I can remember correctly they did play in the ABA or some other ill-fated attempt at a basketball league, before going on the road. Wilt Chamberlain also played for them, but I believe that was at a time when they were a roadshow like today. Hehe, yeah, they have lost once. When they came to my local town I remember the newspapers bringing it up, it was apparently an accident. Someone was supposed to win the game with a fantastic but well planned last shot or dunk. Would love an .avi or something though, even a date. Just didn’t go in, even after all that planning, muhahaha, now there’s a bummer 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TheMadHun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/7 "2001-01-03T15:37:06Z")
I have just been informed, albeit bluntly, by another friend “they’re good at tricks, crap at basketball, last time they played a real team they got gubbed”. “gubbed” being a quaint Scottish colloquialism for “severely beaten”. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/8 "2001-01-03T15:40:23Z")
There is an interesting article here: [http://www.africana.com/tt\_059.htm](http://www.africana.com/tt_059.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Starbury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/9 "2001-01-03T15:43:40Z")
Actually, the Globetrotters are pretty fundamentally sound in terms of their basketball skills. They often go through their usual “comedy” routine for 3 quarters or so, but when they actually play for real, they’re pretty good. At the beginning of the NCAA season this year, the globetrotters played against Michigan State (last year’s NCAA champion)…the game was pretty close, though the globetrotters did lose (I think they only lost by two points, but I can’t find the score anywhere). Recently, a couple of NBA players have played with the globetrotters. One of them is a backup center for the Phoenix Suns, who played with them during the summer after he finished college (I forget which one though…maybe Llamas). ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/10 "2001-01-03T15:45:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheMadHun \* > \*\*Thanks for that. I already visited their site. My question was prompted by my friend’s assertion that they had somehow been banned from playing in a pro league because they were “too good”. The website makes no mention of anything other than touring. Which brings me to the seond question, why would any basketball player of some degree of skill choose to play exhibition basketball? \*\* Hehe, I remember similar assertions going around when I was a kid and they came to town. The thing about the Globetrotters is that they do tricks, they don’t actually PLAY basketball. Their opponents are in on it and it’s all a big fake, more like a circus act than a sport really. (That’s not to say it can’t be entertaining). If you can’t get a break in the pro leagues (like when Wilt was too young to play proball) it’s a good place to hang out and train your skills on a salary, plus you get to see the world and you get that silly song on the brain! I remember this REALLY fat and REALLY old guy who was on the team for years. My uncle had seen them before and he couldn’t stop laughing when they came back and the same old fat guy was still on the team! He would howl out: “Ahahahahahaha, so ol’ fat guy got a little too ol’ and fat, AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!” Ahh… memories 😉 Hope no one beats me to typing the answer this time! 🙂 — G. Raven ---
**Author:** ![TheMadHun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/11 "2001-01-03T15:49:01Z")
Thanks delphica, just what I was looking for. So I guess “basketballing sideshow” is about right then. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/12 "2001-01-03T16:03:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheMadHun \* > \*\*Thanks delphica, just what I was looking for. So I guess “basketballing sideshow” is about right then. \*\* No problem 🙂 Basketballing sideshow is probably about right for them now. It’s also probably important to remember that in the 1930s and 1940s (when they did win titles such as “World Professional Basketball Championship” and defeated teams that would later become NBA teams) many extremely talented players who happened to be black played for the Globetrotters because it was one of the places that they _could_ play. The transition from professional basketball team to wacky basketball entertainers happened in the 1950s, from what I can glean from these web pages. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/13 "2001-01-03T16:10:04Z")
While the Globetrotters nowadays probably would have a hard time competing with the pros, this wasn’t always so. Back in the 40s, when the NBA was just getting off the ground, they could play with any pro team, which the proved by beating the NBA champ Minneapolis Lakers and George Mikan. Remember, too, back then the NBA was all-white. They started out as a regular barnstorming team, playing pickup games and trying to win them. As time went by, they began to develop routines, especially since they usually won against any local competition. Eventually this evolved into pure entertainment. The Washington Generals are only there so that there will be another team on the court. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/14 "2001-01-03T17:20:38Z")
From The Simpsons’ episode where Krusty the Klown has a gambling problem: Krusty’s Financial Planner: You bet _against_ the Harlem Globetrotters?!? Krusty: I thought the Generals were due! ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/15 "2001-01-03T17:48:55Z")
Most of the players came out of the college ranks - fundamentally sound players, but not quite good enough to play in the pros. Given the choice of playing in the CBA or going to Europe, the Globetrotters is probably a good gig. The excellence they show on the court is as much from choreography as basketball skills, but they need decent skills to make the choreography work. Against a pro team, they’d probably account themselves pretty well, but lose. Of course, they’d slaughter the Clippers :D. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/16 "2001-01-03T17:49:16Z")
FWIW, the Globetrotters have two teams, one for touring and one for competitive exhibitions. The exhibition team is the one that played against Michigan State. ---
**Author:** ![kpm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c57346/32.png) [@kpm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kpm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/17 "2001-01-03T18:26:08Z")
Both Globetrotter teams tour around the country. If you check their schedule they often play in 2 different cities on the same night. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/18 "2001-01-03T19:24:45Z")
Are they going to be in the upcoming [Scooby-Doo movie](http://homes.acmecity.com/scoobydoo/carlotta/395/rumors.html)? That’s the first site I found by the way, not necessarily the best. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/19 "2001-01-03T20:18:11Z")
The Globetrotters will be on ESPN Classic January 7th. Enjoy the show, and determine the skills they posess from the demonstration. Secondly, every baby born in the year 2000 is entitled to a lifetime pass to Harlem Globetrotters shows. Free, even. I picked one up for Mini Cyni, and plan to use it when he’s older. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236/20 "2001-01-03T20:50:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CurtC \* > \*\*From The Simpsons’ episode where Krusty the Klown has a gambling problem: > > Krusty’s Financial Planner: You bet _against_ the Harlem Globetrotters?!? > > Krusty: I thought the Generals were due! \*\* And Homer’s appropriate comparison from this season: Ahh, the Luftwaffe. The Washington Generals of the History Channel. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harlem-globetrotters-whats-the-deal/48236.md?page=2)