Talk:Harlem Globetrotters

From this
"* Coach Reeves of the 1970s TV series The White Shadow persuades the Harlem Globetrotters to prevent his team's winning streak from going to their heads. This is one of the few TV appearances of the Globetrotters in which they outscored their opponents in the first half, as the game was mostly a life lesson and not a contest. The team fails to see that they are playing the Globetrotters, as all they see are men in ordinary T-shirts, until the second half, in which they don their famous team jerseys. The Globetrotters return in season 3 when star player Warren Coolidge, convinced that his basketball ability would preclude his need to finish high school, considers dropping out of school and trying out for the Globetrotters. After failing miserably in his tryout, Coolidge is persuaded to finish his education before giving any thought to a basketball career. The Globetrotters reinforce his decision by introducing themselves to him by name and adding their college alma maters to their introductions."

to this (may still need proofing, but at least it makes sense)
"* The Globetrotters appeared in an episode of the 1970's TV show The White Shadowwherein Coach reeves convinces the team to help him send his High school Basketball team a reality check about overconfidence and underestimating their opponents as a result of a winning streak that got to his players heads. The Team agrees and plays against the high school team wearing ordinary T-shirts and sports trunks for the first half of the game. The Globetrotters easily outscored their opponents during this first half of the game. This is notable being somewhat a rarity in Globetrotter film appearances as they generally lose or do poorly during the first half and make a flashy and dramatic comeback in the second half. The High school team fails to realize at-first that they are losing against the world famous Globetrotters. That is until the second half of the game when the team dons their traditionally famous Globetrotter jerseys."

"* The Globetrotters return to the show in season 3 when star player Warren Coolidge, convinced that his basketball ability would preclude his need to finish high school, considers dropping out of school and trying out for the Globetrotters. After failing miserably in his tryout, Coolidge is persuaded to finish his education before giving any thought to a basketball career. The Globetrotters reinforce his decision by introducing themselves to him by name and adding their college alma maters to their introductions."

why? question mark for notation of error

"* Coach Reeves of the 1970s TV series The White Shadow ?persuades? the Harlem Globetrotters ?to? ?prevent? ?his? team's winning streak from going to their heads.

persuades..... to.... prevent->his teams->their heads.... lol sry couldn't help it. better ways to describe their role in the episode. its almost like saying "i'm going to prevent you->to->think of something" wouldn't you mean something like? -> "I will convince you to believe otherwise, so help me!". just for example.

and timeline lol. saying that the team had t-shirts after saying the result of the first half?. storytelling people please get your orders straight.

"This is one of the few TV appearances of the Globetrotters in which they outscored their opponents in the first half, as the game was mostly a life lesson and not a contest. The team fails to see that they are playing the Globetrotters, as all they see are men in ordinary T-shirts, until the second half, in which they don their famous team jerseys."

just one big run-on gag lol.

signed 65.29.228.36 (talk) 17:29, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

dates
in the main article, it states that they were founded in 1927, whereas the information box says 1926. which one is correct? -ross616- 02:06, 19 Octobeofficial hmepage -ross616- 00:53, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

blackout gag
What's a "blackout gag" ? Was thinking that the phrase should really be a link to another page somewhere, but nothing else mentions it. --Ch&#39;marr 21:17, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

loss
On January 5, 1971 the Harlem Globetrotters lost a game in Martin, Tennessee in overtime to the New Jersey Reds as team owner Red Klotz sank the winning basket for a 100-99 score that ended a 2,495-game winning streak.

Shouldn't this be the Washington Generals?


 * While possible, Klotz did beat them as a member of the Reds before ever founding the Generals. The Reds were actually separate and played other opponents in addition. - added June 18

Just saw the Globetrotters in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on April 10th, 2011 and their announcer said the Washington Generals last victory against the Globetrotters was in 1971. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.79.16.144 (talk) 22:34, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

Opponents
According to this SI article, http://www.cnn.com/cnnsi/2006/writers/franz_lidz/03/16/klotz/index.html, the Washington Generals were also known as the Boston Shamrocks, the Baltimore Rockets, the Atlantic City Seagulls, the Boston Whirlwinds, the New Jersey Reds, and the International All-Stars, before Klotz disbanded them to form the New York Nationals. Jeff Worthington 18:17, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Honorary Globetrotters
I have added a list of the 8 "Honorary Globetrotters". Though I am 100% sure these are them, I'm not sure if this is the order it happened in. I know for sure:Jackie Joyner-Kersee is 5th,Nelson Mandela is 6th, Pope John Paul II is the 7th, and Jesse Jackson is the 8th. It's the order of numbers 1-4 I'm not sure of. Also the dates/years they were honored would be nice. Lewiscode 15:13, 22 August 2006 (UTC) - Currently in the article, just after naming Pope John Paul II, it states that James Knight was also named a honorary Globetrotter. In addition, it links to the James Knight article. Now, I'm not very familiar with the Globetrotters or their history, but I simply can't see a 16th century explorer being named an honorary member of a basketball team. I'm not going to remove it because I have a lack of knowledge on the Globetrotters, but please, could someone verify this fact? N313m 12:44, 5 June 2007 (UTC) - I see that the addition of the James Knight fact was done by a user named, "James Knight" who also vandalized the article in other ways in the same edit. I'm going to remove the James Knight reference. N313m 12:50, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Is number of defeats relevant?
It appears from their official site that their overall number of defeats now stands at 345. Should this be included in the article? I've included it before, but its been edited out.

from http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/teamnews/article.asp?ArticleSource=307 (PHOENIX, Feb. 27, 2006) – Founded in 1926, the Globetrotters now own an all-time win/loss record of 22,000 victories and 344 losses, the most wins and highest winning percentage (.985-percent) in sports history.

from: http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/teamnews/article.asp?ArticleSource=315 (INDIANAPOLIS, March 31, 2006) - Despite leading by 11 at the intermission, 44-33, the Harlem Globetrotters dropped a 87-83 contest to the NABC College All-Stars on Friday night before nearly 11,000 fans at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Capitalization of "black"
A couple of users keep changing "black" to "Black." Wikipedia's manual of style contains no convention for this. Section 8.43 of the Chicago Manual of Style states that designations based on color are NOT capitalized. Please stop changing it. 1995hoo 13:43, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Please standardize the Black people article and mention this in the Wikipedia talk:Manual of style.—WAvegetarian&bull;(talk) 16:04, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
 * When I can find time!!!!! (Easier said than done right now) 1995hoo 21:51, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Of course. Thank you for tracking down an authoritative source for this. I've always wondered myself what the standard was an went by what our article seemed to be saying. —WAvegetarian&bull;(talk) 00:27, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Bill Cosby a Globetrotter
Hi, I'm just an user who has seen the "citation needed" tag to the claim that Bill Cosby is a former Globetrotter player. I own a copy of Ben Green's authoritative work on the Trotters, with a foreword by Bill Cosby. In that foreword, Cosby claims to have signed a lifetime contract to the Globetrotters in 1972 for one dollar a year, raised to $1.05 in 1986. Quite evidently, it was and is meant to be an honorary membership, and Bill Cosby should not be presented as a "former player" in the same paragraph as Curly Neal or Lynette Woodard.

World
Have to say that this: "to create one of the best-known sports entertainment franchises in the world" - is misleading. It depends of you define "World" as "America" - ie "The World Series" etc.
 * well, it was taken out, but I am pretty sure they are "one of the best-known sports entertainment franchises in the world". They are known in Tonga, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, England, etc... Not many other sports entertainment franchises are as well known, even in the football (soccer) world. (but there is little doubt soccer is more popular than basketball) --Billy Nair (talk) 04:05, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:HarlemGlobetrotters.jpg
Image:HarlemGlobetrotters.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 04:53, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:SuperGlobetrotters.jpg
Image:SuperGlobetrotters.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 04:46, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Honorary members
There seem to be some fake honorary globetrotters, like henry kissinger and whoopi golberg, anyone want to check the authenticity. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.28.220.137 (talk) 06:26, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Henry Kissinger I also found references to Jesse Jackson and Nelson Mandela being named honorary members. I'll research. Gr8white (talk) 04:19, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Also Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "Pope John Paul II was made an "Honorary Harlem Globetrotter" on Nov. 29, 2000 at the Vatican. He is just the seventh person -- joining Bob Hope, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Dr. Henry Kissinger, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Whoopie Goldberg." Gr8white (talk) 04:25, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

"The team named Pope John Paul II and the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson as the seventh and eighth Honorary Globetrotters in the team's history." Gr8white (talk) 04:39, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

I revised the list and am confident the first 8 (thru Jackson, 2001) are accurate. Will try to determine if the rest belong. Gr8white (talk) 04:53, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Also, somebody can't count. "These eight people have been named..." OK, but, there's nine (9) names there. Umm...? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.163.244.95 (talk) 23:49, 18 December 2012 (UTC)


 * That's because some people insist on adding their own favorites. I couldn't find any indication that Robin Meade was honored so I removed her name. Gr8white (talk) 04:05, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Jamario Moon?
Maybe not vandalism, but I don't think "and once even suited up for the Harlem Globetrotters" (basketball-players.suite101.com/article.cfm/jamario_moons_sudden_emergence) qualifies him to be listed with the others. Gr8white (talk) 18:14, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Someone added him back and I removed again. Also removed Olden Polynice who someone added and who "briefly" played for them. This paragraph isn't intended to list everyone who ever put on a Globetrotters uniform, but maybe there should be a link to the Harlem Globetrotters players category somewhere (not sure just where it would fit in). Gr8white (talk) 06:22, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

Inman Jackson 7' 4"
All my research indicates that the Globetrotters' original center was 6' 3". Although I am sure he must have appeared as though he was 7"4" to many people of the time, I am confident that this is an error in the article.

The article originally said 6'4" and was changed by the edit below, probably just vandalism.

14:46, 25 January 2008 216.23.246.138 (Talk) (19,405 bytes) (→Early history) (undo)

I'll change back to 6'4" but if you have a definitive reference for 6'3" let me know. Gr8white (talk) 07:29, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
 * 6'3" appears to be correct, I changed & added a reference. Gr8white (talk) 07:44, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Chicago, not New York?
I was reading a book about black players in basketball, and the Globetrotters are said to be from Chicago, not New York, as the Wikipedia article says. Before they were the Globetrotters, they were the Savoy Five, named after the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago, where they played. Abe Saperstein decided using the name "Harlem" suggested black players and "Globetrotters" suggest world travel, despite no plans at the time of traveling the world. Krillinish (talk) 23:42, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Trotters are the best!

The trotters are the best basketball players in the NBA>. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.165.78.143 (talk) 21:00, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Saperstein's contributions exaggerated
Although Saperstein did coin the name "Harlem Globetrotters" he did not "create" the team, as the intro says. The team already existed as the Giles Post team when Saperstein was brought in as a mgr and coach. See for more info. 68.73.84.231 (talk) 09:03, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

Excessive pop culture removed
I removed the following items from the section "Harlem Globetrotters in films and television". The section intro states "The Harlem Globetrotters have been featured in several of their own films and television series over the years". The items removed are all one-off appearances or trivial mentions that don't include any actual Globetrotters, and don't meet this "featured" criteria. This section is already a disproportionally large amount of the article and contains too much trivia. I've left the items that focused on the Globetrotters, and the Simpsons reference since it's at least a recurring theme, although that's pretty trivial too.


 * In The Simpsons episode "Homie The Clown" Krusty bets all his money (later revealed to be a mere $48) against the Harlem Globetrotters and loses, claiming that 'I thought the Generals were due!'


 * Hell's Kitchen features one episode aired on March 12, 2009, where the chefs cooked for a boy's Bar Mitzvah. As part of his gift, the Harlem Globetrotters performed for the boy in the restaurant, as its theme was basketball.


 * Jon & Kate Plus 8 features an episode aired on March 24, 2009, where the Gosselins went to a Harlem Globetrotters game. The Globetrotters picked Cara to be in the show.  The Gosselins also had a meet-and-greet with the players.


 * The Best Show on WFMU featured a parody call from a member of the Washington Generals on an episode airing April 28th, 2009.


 * The Bachelorette featured a group date with the contestants playing basketball against bachelorette Jillian and the Globetrotters, airing on May 25, 2009.

James A. Stewart (talk) 03:29, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Harlem Globetrotters Cheerleaders?
Is there an authorized "Harlem Globetrotters" cheerleading team? I mean, one that has permission to use their trademark in their dance routines?

The main article could be improved with an article about their cheerleaders. It isn't coed, is it? Dexter Nextnumber (talk) 21:13, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

Spurious "member"
I was curious about one "former member" listed in the article and found the only references to him seemed to have been copied from this article. A little checking revealed that that name replaced Marques Haynes in an edit in March. I can only assume it was vandalism so I won't repeat the name here. Gr8white (talk) 04:00, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

Controversy: Last Segregated Team?
Why is the last officially segregated sports team permitted to exist in violation of the US 1964 Civil Rights Act? Why is this not controversial? Why is there no "controversy" section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.111.71.197 (talk) 05:47, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

False equivalency. Segregation was a set of laws and practices used by people in power to oppress a disenfranchised minority. The Globe Trotters had to be an all black teem when they were formed and for them to continue that tradition is not comparable to an all white establishment keeping out people of color; the power relationships is reversed. Just like an all woman club is not the same as a males only club. Pearl2525 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 00:46, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Singing
The Harlem Globetrotters recorded an album with Kirshner Records in 1970. The album included the hit single "Rainy Day Bells." The album coincided with the Saturday cartoon by Hanna-Barbera

Video Games
Shouldn't the Harlem globe trotter video games be mentioned on this page somewhere? There was a game for the original nintendo system back in the day, as well as a modern game release for the nintendo ds and gameboy advance. I think this is as least as important as noting they appeared on gilligans island and scooby do71.214.148.173 (talk) 07:00, 2 March 2010 (UTC)?

The Chicago Reds were the Original Harlem Globtrotters
The original Harlem Globtrotters started on the North side of Chicago, Ill at the Wells Park Field House (Western Ave & Montrose) under the name of the Chicago Reds in 1923. The basketball team was composed of 5 guys who became friends and loved to play around with the basketball before each game. Paul Otto Bach (over 6' tall) and Abe Saperstein (under 5' tall) became good friends and together started the team off before each game by forming a circle and performing theatrical tricks (ball spinning on one finger, over the shoulder, under the leg, behind the back, under the arm, etc.) while passing the ball to one another during pre-game warm-ups while whistling. The Bach family lived on the north side of Chicago while the Saperstein family lived and operated a Flower Shop on the South side of Chicago (Harlem Ave). They sometimes commuted to each others home and to Wells Park on the Harlem Ave bus and transferred over to the Western Ave bus via east west buses. Many weekends were spent visiting and having dinner at the Saperstein home. After a couple of years, Abe Saperstein decided to form what today is called the Harlem Globtrotters which was originally named after Harlem Ave in Chicago. A thin book called the Chicago Reds came out in 1929 and explains how the Harlem Globetrotters started.

Signed By: Paul Harvey Bach, September 1, 2010 Chicago-reds1923 (talk) 07:27, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

Retiring a dead man?
The article states that Wilt Chamberlain retired on March 9, 2000, but Wilt's page says he died on October 12, 1999, 149 days before retiring. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.74.4.24 (talk) 05:33, 6 January 2011 (UTC)
 * it says his NUMBER was retired then, not that he retired then. 71.214.156.77 (talk) 03:34, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Lineups
Are there enough documents to list all of the Globetrotters? Fotoguzzi (talk) 02:04, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

Legitimacy of matches
The article seems slightly cagey on the legitimacy of the Globetrotters' matches. I'm not especially familiar with them, being from outside the US, but are their matches "fixed" like pro wrestling? Or are they legitimate contests but against opponents who are so much less skilled that a Harlem victory is pretty much a given? -- ChrisTheDude (talk) 07:55, 1 July 2013 (UTC)


 * I don't think the games are scripted and rigged in the way pro wrestling is. However, I have seen a number of their games, and they are a bit, shall we say fluid i things like running the clock and keeping score. I was at a game just the other night and the opponents score went from 44 to 72 in the span of the final minute. I think they added on points to set up some "excitement". There also is the fact that many of their routines would get fouls, technicals, or violations called if it was in a regular game. Wschart (talk) 21:20, 28 January 2017 (UTC)

Losses
The article currently says: After a loss to the Washington Generals in 1962 alleged by Generals owner Red Klotz, the Harlem Globetrotters lost only three more games in the next 50 years (5,983 games).

However, the article then goes on to detail more than three losses in the next 50 years:
 * 1) Jan. 5, 1971 loss to the New Jersey Reds (alter ego of the Washington Generals)
 * 2) Sept. 12, 1995 loss to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's All-Star Team
 * 3) Nov. 13, 2000 loss to Michigan State
 * 4) Nov. 10, 2002 loss to Vanderbilt
 * 5) Nov. 11, 2002 loss to Maryland
 * 6) Nov. 3, 2003 loss to UTEP
 * 7) Mar. 31, 2006 loss to NABC College All-Stars

Does anybody know the reason for the discrepancy? --Metropolitan90 (talk) 17:35, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

Dubious addition to the list of honorary players
There is no indication whatsoever that some James Knight has been named by the team as the honorary Globetrotter. On the contrary, here is Examiner.com claiming that John Paul II and Jesse Jackson were the 7th and 8th member of this list: www.examiner.com/article/even-the-pope-was-a-globetrotter. Can we do the simple math and start just reverting this apparent spam? --Deinocheirus (talk) 19:53, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Go for it. WP:V is policy everywhere, and especially WP:BLP regarding people. DMacks (talk) 22:41, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

Sloppy research
The official history is NOT contradictory. The team started in 1926 when Dick “Baby Face” Hudson, the manager of an all black basketball team called, the Giles Post American Legion Five, approached one of the white owners of the New York Savoy to proposed that when the new Savoy ballroom they were in the process of building, on the South side of Chicago, was completed that he rename his team and make the new ballroom their home court. So yes the the Savoy Five were formed in 1926. After the 1927-28 season, their first, the Savoy five disbanded, and most of the players regrouped under the new owner Abe Saperstein who renamed the team first the New York Globe trotters and then the Harlem Globetrotters. Pearl2525 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 01:20, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Infobox Fix
To all whom this may concern, The infobox orginally didn't have a correct title, "{{Infobox basketball club", so I added that, and fixed it.

Big changes
The history was confusing to me before. The Savoy Big Five seemed to come from nowhere. There was a long list of wins and losses though most of their games are more or less fixed. The events were completely out of order. A lot of info was left on the cutting room floor though. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.187.174.62 (talk) 16:42, 28 November 2016 (UTC)

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№ 3 jersey no longer retired
№3 is listed as being retired in honor of Red Klotz, however seems to show it in current use. --LukeSurlt c 23:56, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

Trotters pinball machine
What about the famous pinball machine? As far as I can recall, it was among the first which was themed to celebrities.

2A02:560:42AA:8100:E4A6:C8F:5B78:A58C (talk) 17:44, 18 January 2019 (UTC)

trotters vs ceirc de soile le.
yes my spelling is poor .but it would be such a fun site too see the ciurqe dancers playing basket ball. with the trotters they could be swinging around jumping and all that and the guys would be just trying to shoot throu it. ph that would be a gas!! think about it jess — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.207.30.187 (talk) 03:39, 29 November 2019 (UTC)

Harlem Globetrotters To The NBA: 'Don't Get It Twisted,' Make Us A Pro Franchise Now
The Globetrotters have called on the NBA to make the team a pro franchise: Thriley (talk) 22:31, 23 June 2021 (UTC)

Names of harlem globetrotters
Who are the three harlem globe trotters at butlins i will give you two crush and flip name the third one 2.120.117.55 (talk) 16:58, 20 March 2022 (UTC)

Multiple units
I didn't know this before, but looking at the team's schedule at https://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/world-tour/schedule/ it appears there must be at least three different versions or squads of the Globetrotters touring at the same time, since they may have games in two different parts of the U.S. and another game in Europe on the same day. If we could find a source that clearly states this, it should be added to the article. -- Metropolitan90 (talk) 23:38, 11 February 2024 (UTC)