In Black America; The Harlem Globetrotters 1985

! This is In Black America, Reflections of the Black Experience in American Society. The Harlem Globetrotters are the world's most watched sports team. Their hilarious blend of comedy and outstanding basketball talent has captivated millions of fans in more than 90 countries. They played before kings and popes and have drawn the largest crowds in basketball's history. From their opening warm-up drill, always performed to the musical accompaniment of sweet Georgia Brown, to their last trick shot, the trotters provoked a torrent of laughter,

no matter where they appear. I'm John Hanson and this week our focus is on the Harlem Globetrotters in Black America. I actually started out as a YMCA basketball team. Ape who was the coach of the YMCA team had this brilliant idea of starting the first professional black basketball team. There weren't any blacks in professional sports doing this particular time. And from 1927 this idea went into effect five players left in the station wagon driven by Ape, started traveling in the different directions out of Chicago playing anybody that they could charge an admission in which classified them as a professional basketball team. And actually starting out as a straight basketball team, no comedy, no showmanship. And this idea since 1927 we're talking about 56 years now has really grown into something that even Ape had no idea that it was going to eventually become. Joe Cunningham, former player for the Harlem Globetrotters and publicity representative. Basketball fans around the globe will attest that the Harlem Globetrotters are the

game's greatest attraction. Everywhere the trotters appear their show is the same. Numerous television appearances have made their routines familiar to all. The Glow trotters will first introduce to a television audience by the late Ed Sullivan. That appearance more than 28 years ago attracted more than 70% of the viewing public that Sunday night. When Apes Apperstine found the team back in 1926, the trotters were strictly a serious barnstorming team. In those days basketball was a slow game with little scoring. It was the trotters who popularized the fast break, getting the ball down the court with a series of quick passes between players. The humorous side of their play didn't appear immediately. Cypherstine had organized a team that played in Chicago's Savoy ballroom. When the ballroom was turned into a roller skating rink, Ape was left without a place to play. After some thought, Ape had no alternative but to take his trotters on the road. Since that time,

the hot and globe trotters have never had a home court. The game of basketball at that time had not caught on generally, and the unknown team from Chicago didn't seem like much of an attraction. The players were all black, as they still are today. Recently, the trotters have announced that they are looking for a female basketball player for the team. Although none of the team members were from New York City, Ape Cypherstine decided to call the team the hot and globe trotters. In the early days, especially during the depression, times were bleak, but Ape resisted, finding the best black players he could. In time, the team became so good no one wanted to play them. To stimulate interest, Ape began to add the clowning routine that were to become the globe trotters' trademark. I spoke with Ovi Dotson and James Blacklock, current members of the hot and globe trotters, and Joe Cunningham, publicity representative. First, Joe Cunningham. When did the entertainment aspects of the game of basketball

involved, to more of the globe trotters' style and forte? Well, actually, it was an accident that happened somewhere around three or four years after the globe trotters actually started to play. Trotting with only five players in the globe trotters who had become quite popular at this time, as far as their ability to play basketball, the fact that they proved that blacks could play basketball. We're getting a lot of invitations to play. So it became impossible for five players to actually play a full game at full basketball speed, so to speak. So they went into what is considered today the stall game, or as Dean Smith called it, the four corners. And it was doing this period of stalling that a lot of the routines evolved to some of the antics that we see now being done by the globe trotters, some of the fancy ball handling the passing and this type of thing. It was actually a competition between the players, among the players, a private type of thing. But the audience seemed to enjoy it just as much as the team did. So this really became a regular part each night of what they were doing. And it grew from year to year, and to the point that the

magic circle became a great part of what the globe trotters were doing. Instead of just doing this doing the game, the audience acts that the globe trotters come to the center to court and go through some of these ball hang routines that they were doing. And of course, as you know, the magic circle is one of the most popular things today that the globe trotters do. When did the globe trotters obtain national recognition and also international recognition when the cell algorithms start coming to be? Well, as I said, the globe trotters became quite popular because first of all, basketball was a considered very conservative type of game back in the 30s and 40s and even all weapons to the 50s and some parts of the 60s. And what the globe trotters were doing was something very unique. We're talking about a regular straight competitive game, basketball being seen as an attainment. Very unique skills. And people were starting to come to see the games that had never seen sports before at all. Abe's idea of taking this globe trotter team around the world first into Europe was really looked down upon about a lot of people. They felt that it's no way that you're going to be

able to take a game like basketball into a European country and of course being black as we were. We would not be accepted. Abe said, well, we are Harlem globe trotters and our idea is to spread our feelings and our joys and happiness and love around the world. This is going to be a first step and we're going to try it and it happened. Today, the globe trotters are spending somewhere in a hood of three months with two complete units, two complete different shows just like in the United States, in the European countries. So that gives you an idea of what happened. And of course, the globe trotters became very instrumental in developing the game itself and a lot of these countries. We introduced a game of basketball to a lot of these countries and one of the reasons we became so international is somewhere in a hood of 99 different countries now and still seem to be growing. How many globe trotters are there? You said there's two different teams. Well, today there's actually only 20 globe trotters in uniform. Of course, in that 56 years, there have been somewhere in a hood of 400 different players who have worn that uniform, 400 different players who have been responsible for the tradition of the Harlem globe trotters. Even looking back to my years of playing, the things that I remembered will be the things

that reminded me of those 400 different players who have been responsible for the success, so to speak of the Harlem globe trotters. Does being a globe trot takes some of the pressures off the game of basketball? Basketball is a competitive sport and all players that play basketball like to win. Nine times out of ten, the globe trotters win their competition. Well, I think it takes some of the pressures as far as the competitive aspect of basketball is concerned. Of course, there are a lot of pressures on a globe trotter and of course, they're not maybe not compared to say the NBA teams, but there is a lot of pressure, a different type of pressure. First of all, the globe trotters are recognized as ambassadors of good will, which it sounds like a beautiful title and it is, but the responsibility behind that ambassadorship is not just a name. The players' views is this is one of the very serious things that we feel very committed to. It's the fact that we are ambassadors, the fact that we represent the United States in so many different areas of the world and maybe not only just ambassadors of good will from the United States to other countries, we become the ambassadors of the universe.

So this week, we belong to just about every place and every continent and every country and the individual people that we play for. We have a commitment to them and this is universal. It's a great responsibility and of course, there's that 56 years, the tradition, the fact that the globe trotters are not looking to next week or next month. We're looking at 50, 100 years from today. It just says it's been for 56 years, it must continue. So the pressure of every night competition, a different city every day, a different audience every day, seven days a week, somewhere in neighborhood of 225 or 250 games per season. So the pressure is there, it may not be like the NBA, but it's definitely a lot of pressure. How does one become a globe trotter? Well, we have a scouting system, somewhat similar to the NBA. I couldn't give any, say, precise way of a young man looking to be a globe trot. We are looking for talent. We're looking first of all at good basketball players, just like the NBA would. We're scouting basketball players, good talent. Then perhaps we're looking at that player that has the exceptional type of skill.

The exceptional jumper, the player that stands out in the crowd, the exceptional rebounder, shooter, jumpers. For instance, Curly Neal back in the early 60s was shooting set shots in college basketball, something that was both been forgotten back in the late 50s. He stood out in the crowd and he was doing this effectively. This is the type of player the globe trotters would recruit. Then we have a training camp every year or a tri-hour camp that we bring in and we're from 15 to 25 players and from that group we'll pick that one or two players who we feel will fit into the globe trotter system that particular year. I incident happened a couple years back over in Europe, one of the globe trotters squad. So that kind of townish, the globe trotter sentiments? Well, I'm not exactly familiar with the incident that you're particularly speaking of. What was the drug incident that happened in Europe a couple of years ago before one of the globe trotters squad members? Well, this particular thing happened, if I'm not mistaken, was in South America. As you said a couple of years ago, there was a situation where the globe trotters were connected to some extent. Two of the players had been connected in a drug incident that I think

even today we're not really sure of what happened. This is one of the things about being globe trotters and of course being professional athletes is the fact that you have to be very, very careful who you associate with and there are so many people out there who would be dying to get a chance to to involve you in a lot of situations. The particular players involved that we really don't know what happened in that particular instance whether they were set up in a situation or whether they were actually guilty. It was an unfortunate incident because the globe trotters for so many years have done so many things to try to discourage the use of drugs and of course among professional athletes. We've been very instrumental in trying to set up a program along with the NBA to to discourage drugs and professional sports. So this was an unfortunate thing for us that all of a sudden the two of our players had been connected or had been accused of being associated to some extent with drugs and sad to say that it happened. Of course we did straighten everything out and everything is back to where it should be and I don't really think the image of the globe trotters has been heard a whole lot. For years we've had a great repetitions for

working with young people and of course as you said we're working to prevent and to to get rid of so the somewhat the thing of drugs and professional sports and I think it won't hurt the globe trotters in the future. We have a great reputation for what we're doing. How did you come up with the theme song with the music Sweet Georgia Brown? Well Sweet Georgia Brown was another one of those accident type things. Of course as you know Sweet Georgia Brown was playing a long time before the globe trotters picked it up but the particular version that we are hearing today is the globe trotters thing and of course that record is instantly recognized as being a hollong globe trotters right. It was the song that one of the players was downtown I can't remember the city now that he was in and he heard this particular record at a record store. He loved the beat and he bought the record, took it back to the gymnasium that night and in a dressing room the players were listening to it and popping the fingers as everyone will when they hear that version. They liked it so that night doing the magic circle they decided to play it. They played it on a record player. The people loved it. Everyone got into the rhythm of what the globe trotters were

doing with the basketball and Abe loved it. So within the next year he went out and bought our rights to that particular version. Now it's solely on about a hollong globe trotters. I would assume that the hollong globe trot organization is a massive organization in that you bring your own opponents or do the cities in which you play provide the opposition. What we do bring our own opponents in fact this has been going on. One of the reasons for starting this particular program years ago was to eliminate the problem in a lot of cases of finding good competition in a lot of the cities we were planning. Of course a lot of cities have good basketball teams both college and semi-pro whatever. But in a lot of cases we were planning against teams that really had skills but weren't really considered competition so to speak for the hollong globe trotters. So to eliminate that we contracted an organization to provide us with an opposing team to play against us every night. This is a professional team who all of these players have played college basketball somewhere and they're a good team. So every night we expect for them

to give us good competition because we're really not out there to try to beat anybody and that's not the purpose of the hollong globe trotters. Of course we hope to win and in most cases as you said that we will win we've lost something like 323 games in that 56 years and of course that's compared to something like 17,000 wins but that part of the globe trotters is really not that important. What we are really concerned about is first of all promoting basketball and of course keeping the tradition of the globe trotters alive bringing love joy and attainment that's what's important. Nobody knows the scores after the globe trotter game no one cares but the fact is they know they've been entertained they know they've gotten a taste of the tradition a piece of the apple pie you know maybe a little cherry that particular night and that's the important thing that we're doing. Players come and go to what do you attribute the gold trotters longevity in the basketball arena and also in the entertainment arena? Well I think probably the main thing I think has to do also with the fact that we are universal the fact that the one thing that I think that most people became relate to is human. The thing that most people can relate to is love and joy and happiness.

I think it's the thing that the globe trotters provide and also the fact that we are tradition we're in a situation it's being passed from one generation to the other the things that our grandfather saw they told our fathers about the reason the routines won't change you know routines we were doing today we're done back in the 40s and 50s it's being passed on from generation to generation as apple pie as I mentioned Santa Claus. Globe trotters are being considered parallel with these particular things that's what has happened with the globe trotters and the reason they maintain their popularity and we're expecting another 20 if or 50 years to be the same way it must continue you know someone acts well what's going to happen if it ever ends and I say that's just pray that it doesn't because it's a part of what we're doing is a part of what we as Americans believe in and that's happiness and joy. Joe Cuttingham the Harlem Globe trotters were the first team to employ full-time trainers and the first team to hold preseason trading camp they also were the first to employ full-time scouts constantly on the lookout for new talent. Besides these first the globe trotters players invented the slam dunk weave offense and the high

arching set shot that has become their trademark. In the early days fancy ball handling was a necessity since the team carried only five players members had no time to rest during a contest one player controlled the ball for minutes at a time dowsling the other team with his dribbling this gave the other trotters a much needed on court breather forming University of Texas basketball player Jimmy Blacklock is the trotter who provides the on court breather today. As of now I've been 10 years and being a globe trotter was never my dream it's just something that happened I think it was a blessing in the skies after finishing here UT I was drafted and then later on had some problems with a contract and I played one year with athletes in action which is a Christian fellowship organization and then after that I was contracted or contacted by the globe trotters and I wasn't really sure I turned them down about four times and they were seriously interested in my services and I told them I didn't know exactly what they wanted me to do so one thing led to another and

they put me through a program and I never looked back I mean I've enjoyed it since you mentioned a program what type of program or initiation that you have to go through once being chosen to become a globe trotter well being chosen is hard enough initiation after being chosen signed to a contract we put you through like a two or three year program which is learning the system trying to blend your game with the style of the globe trotters game which was very difficult for me in the beginning it took me a good four or five years to actually blend both and then I didn't know exactly what they really wanted me to do I had a specialty and didn't know what it was which was dribbling at the time and they told me a few routines about dribbling and how they wanted me to perform a dribbling act which consists of about 25 to 30 seconds within a quarter so I didn't know exactly how to do that and they got together with me and they put me through a program and they I was taught by Marcus Haines the great one of the greatest drillers if not the greatest drill all time I think of course Colonel in the Tex Harrison had a lot to do with my my not rehabilitation but my program etc so it was a big adjustment but I made it being a part of the

globe trotters for 10 years do you still get up every night hey man it's every night I mean we we have to work we play seven nights a week we we play seven nights a week and we have to be good every night now you know it's impossible to be good every night but with this team we're good every night what does the meaning of you Jimmy being a how I'm globe trotter uh you know that's Hanson that's really hard to say it means uh it's a special thing in my life right now and it's more meaningful than anything I've ever done and everybody don't get a chance to be a globe trotter I mean I'm not saying you have to be special but I think you have to be in the right place of the right time and I think I was at this particular time do you feel any added pressures being a part of the Harlem globe trotters and ask that you all are ambassadors for the United States I think that's the biggest that is the biggest problem that that possesses all of us that uh

there's a certain image and then to every night you'll have to go out there and be good so people expect that and then to we know when we're not playing exceptional exceptionally great and a good basketball but our our show compensate for that and uh it's pressures every night but it's good it's a it's a fun kind of pressure it's not the kind you got to go out and win a championship it's something to go out and make people happy and give people a good general feeling as to how the sport should be felt when it's all over with whether you win or you lose having had the opportunity to travel all over the world what particular countries you particularly enjoy going to I love your reporting I love Australia the greatest country on earth it is a beautiful place it's different and uh not that we'll receive warmly a lot more than we do in the states but it's it's an isolated area and it's a place that American and people itself etc don't get a chance to visit more often it's a place we call down under so uh Australia would be my first choice and then the US of course would be my second as life chains that much for Jimmy Brocklox since becoming a globe trotter financially sure but your middle attitude your attitudes towards your friends and

friends attitudes towards you well one thing I like about when people when when people see me after they seen me a year or two before they said Jimmy still the same that makes me feel good I'm sure we all change in different ways but I feel that uh my burning burning desire to be what I am today and to be more than that when it's over but most of all be myself uh I think that in the long run that I'll look back on all that sense and then I'll still be the same and hasn't changed me all the star struck and whatnot I'm not there I'm still Jimmy Black like and hopefully I'll always be that because that's what I was before I became a globe trotter I've been told that this is one of the better of the two teams as far as how I'm glow trotters I concerned what are your particular feelings about returning here to University of Texas at Austin playing before some of the hometown fans well I got a kind of mixing motion some some older people older adults are no way I'm the younger kids one and then you know after you leave the school at the three or four five years six years seven years sometimes you know your name sort of dissipates a little bit

disappear but there's a lot I left I had a lot of good memories here and I left people smiling and happy and excited and knowing that hey you know that was a great basketball player that was here so it would be nice if some people will walk up to me and they do remember me from a few years back and say hey you know you look good or it's good seeing you keep up the good work but uh I've got mixed emotions but you know I feel good about being here because it's not a trip that I make often here and when I do I I know my way around I'm no stranger you say the trotters work seven days a week what do you do to break the monotony of being a hot and glow trotter to get away from it all jump on the referees and beat them up to someone no no no the monotony I do I got various things and habits that I do I'm very comfortable in each city I get to I'm a shopper I like to shop I like to dress and and I do a lot of shopping and and a lot of my time is spent you know sitting around reading and and just writing a lot of fan mail and answering a lot of fan letters so I'm pretty much easy going in the sense that being and playing seven nights a week and then having a lot of time in between the spare it's pretty easy to sort of drift away and do your own

thing before game time. Jimmy Blacklock throughout the years the hot and glow trotters have signed famous college players to tour with them the most prominent of these was Wilk Chamberlain who appeared with the trotters for a season. Today while virtually all the good black collegiate choose to play in the professional leagues the trotters deal managed to come up with enough new talent to keep the show going. I also spoke with Ovi Dotson Mr. Slam Dunk for the Harlem Globetrotters. Ovi when did you become a Globetrotter and why did you decide to make that decision? Well they kind of made it for me actually John. By myself more year we playing USC out in California. I was getting off in the game I had some nice passes and did some nice dunks and the sky was at the game and he sent a letter to Coach Lummins which was here at that time and I kind of knew they were interested in me but my man concerned at the time was trying to finish school and I wasn't worried about that. As time went on every year they seemed to keep in contact with me so one thing led to another and then I was

invited finally after my senior year I was invited to camp and that's where I went or the reason I did decide to pursue it is because they were interested in me and I wasn't into the NBA at that time because the draft hadn't came up anything so I thought that'd be the best thing for me. Once going through the tryout and finally knowing that you had made the globe try to squad what was your reaction? Well I was really excited by that when I left I knew I had a good chance of making it because I felt like my type of game would fit right into their style. Doing the camp was kind of funny because a lot of the guys were from the east coast and most of them were from the west coast and they didn't really know me because you know they didn't know about University of Texas and after the first couple of days then the guys started trying to find out who I was because I was I came to play John and I think anytime a person delicates themselves and they won some mouth there you know I feel like you can get it I've proved that to myself. Was any adjustment part as far as your game and adjusting to the globe try to style of play? Well maybe some of the

annexes that they do are a geese and curl is really jamming and gated there they do off until some routine sometimes and maybe the part about instead of sometimes you could go get a basket when you steal the bars that we'd have to come back and set a play up and I think that took a while from because when I get it you know what I like to do with it and sometimes you know I had to learn to slow down and play within the system or the globe try to system is very basic it's a fundamental basket ball and so that's not hard for any basket ball player to fit in because you're passing shooting and you know defense and that's all what they're concerned about. Having traveled around the world what particular places you enjoy going to? Well besides I love home first of all I like to say anybody that hasn't been out to the United States would appreciate it after they leave I like Austria you know I like Europe. John I really like every place because I get along with people and I just you know a smile or eye contact or a gesture and then you know you feel right at home. What does it mean to you being apart of the Harlem Globe trial is that tradition?

Well I think it's a dream come true I think it's kids all the kids watch the Harlem Globe trial is you know my father took me and I'm sure you know people taking you too and it makes me feel good the guys like Sweetwater Cliffs and Connie Hawkins will chairman those guys the things that they put into it a goose tatum melt like lemon to make it still exist today I feel I feel happy about it to be a part of it and to try to keep going on and add something new to it. It's an added pressure besides being a Harlem Globe trial but being ambassadors for the United States do you find any pressure on yourself? Well I think so we do a lot of things for everybody or people depend on our planes and stuff you be surprised sometimes the students come back and compliment us a lot of kids on and we take the kids and you know we do a lot of things it is pressure but if you live the right kind of life and you know you treat people the same you can handle those things and it's pressure on anybody living but what people expect of you yes I would say what does it mean to you returning back to the University of Texas playing before some of the

home fans? Well I really enjoy it you know University of Texas was good to me it gave me the opportunity to be where I am today that's what they saw me in the University of Texas Junior Form everything in Texas is first class and I'm happy to be home anytime I'm close I try to come through and hollage somebody and let them know that I'm I like it playing basketball seven days a week can't get count of a night and it's what does Obi-Dawson do to break them a night and get away from the hollum glow trotter grind well you know when I'm not playing I'm really playing because I do a lot of things with the kids and I'm always around basketball a lot I like just sitting down holding conversations with people to really find out what they're about and stuff and just being casual and realizing that you know I can wear uniform the day in the morning I can't have one belonged like hold myself at the same person and face reality and that's what I'm working on about I'm not a very high-pitched person so to stick I'm very low-key in a way but I just want to keep myself working in something I can always be and I can always be Obi-Dawson.

So life really hasn't changed that much for Obi-Dawson financially yes but you're still more less the same person do your friends still perceive you at the same Obi-Dawson from San Antonio? I think so though they don't know me. I've been speaking with Obi-Dawson, Jimmy Blacklock, and Joe Cuttingham all with the hollum glow trotters.

If you have a comment or would like to purchase a cassette copy of this program write us your dress is in Black America Longhorn Radio Network University of Texas at Austin Texas 787-12. In Black America's technical producer David Alvarez I'm John Hanson. Join us next week. You've been listening to In Black America Reflections of the Black Experience in American Society. In Black America is produced and distributed by the Center for Telecommunication Services at UT Austin and does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Texas at Austin or this station. Alright. This is the Longhorn Radio Network.