Spinning the Globe (54 page)
Read Spinning the Globe Online
Authors: Ben Green
Sanders, Twiggy, 358
San Francisco All-Nations, 190
Saperstein, Abe (Abraham Michael).
See also
financial issues; Harlem Globetrotters
Basketball Hall of Fame and, 391
beginnings of Globetrotters and, 34–38, 45–50
Wilt Chamberlain and, 288–91
College All-Star tour and, 216–18, 221–23
early life of, in Chicago, 14–24, 68
first Madison Square Garden game and, 3–5, 8–10
Marques Haynes and, 253–59, 265
Hollywood and, 214–15, 235, 246–48, 254, 264–65
illness and death of, 305–16
international tours and, 240, 248–50, 284–85
Mannie Jackson and, 368–69
Minneapolis Lakers rivalry and, 201, 209–10
NBA and, 228–33, 271–72
Negro League baseball and, 33–34, 42–43
as promoter, 63–65, 245–46
relationships of, with players, 151–52, 192, 389
release of Goose Tatum by, 272–82
sexual activity of, 299–300
as substitute player, 52, 61–62
success of, 94–95, 142–43, 146–49, 187–90, 259–64, 316–17, 339
Saperstein, Eloise, 94, 339
Saperstein, Fay, 17, 228, 249, 306, 339
Saperstein, Harry, 17, 23, 43, 52–53, 172, 299, 314
Saperstein, Jerry, 285, 339–40, 364
Saperstein, Leah, 17, 19, 21, 23
Saperstein, Louis and Anna, 14–18, 22–23
Saperstein, Morris, 17, 23, 188, 259, 339–40, 352
Saperstein, Rockmill “Rocky,” 17, 23, 68, 172, 188, 278–79
Saperstein, Sylvia Franklin, 68, 314, 339
Savoy Big Five, 34–35, 38–44, 46, 49–50, 56, 70, 74–75, 143
Schreiber, Walter, 243–44
segregation, 11, 60, 69–70, 166, 175, 194–96, 220, 222, 251–52, 265–71, 389.
See also
racial issues
sexual activity, 288–89, 296–300.
See also
women
Sheboygan Redskins, 107, 118–19, 128, 139, 201
showmanship.
See also
ballhandling; comedy routines; films; television appearances
Sonny Boswell’s, 146
Inman Jackson’s, 57
Minneapolis Lakers game, 212–14
racial stereotypes and minstrel show issue, 58, 90–93, 101–2, 163, 293–94, 349–52, 373
Abe Saperstein on, 147
Goose Tatum’s, 160, 324–25 (
See also
Tatum, Reece “Goose”)
Shults, Alex, 126, 147
Sinclair, Clyde, 384
Smith, Kate, 100, 105
Smith, Wee Willie, 111, 114–15, 118, 130
Smith, Wendell, 103–4, 119, 139, 141, 143, 146, 163, 171–72, 188, 232, 255–57, 273, 285
Smith, Wyonella, 188, 306–7, 312–15, 340, 352
South Side Chicago (Bronzeville), 28–31, 36, 209–10.
See also
Chicago
Soviet Union, 283–87
sports
African Americans in, ix, 27–31
greatest year, 32
Abe Saperstein’s early interest in, 19–24
Sports Spectacular
(show), 302–5
sportswriters
Globetrotter comedy and, 85, 92–93
Abe Saperstein’s relationships with, 64–65, 79–81, 89, 95, 146–47, 255–56
State Department.
See
United States
State Department
Steinbrenner, George, 309
Stephens, Frank, 341–42, 343–48, 351, 373, 390
stereotypes, racial, 58, 90–93, 101–2, 163, 293–94, 349–52, 373.
See also
racial issues
Strauss, Michael, 45–48
strikes, 338–39, 342, 343–45, 358.
See also
players
Strong, Ted, 97–98, 101–2, 109, 114–17, 123–24, 135–36, 144, 165, 169, 176–79, 191, 197, 206–7, 235, 262
Summer Youth Basketball Camps, 379
Summons, Murphy, 343
Super Globetrotters, The
(cartoon), 337
Sweet Georgia Brown
(song), 1–3, 245, 286, 381, 387
Sykes, Harry, 263, 353
Tatum, Reece “Goose”
baseball career of, 158–62
play of, after Globetrotters, 316–26
play of, for Globetrotters, 2, 6, 152, 158, 162–63, 166–68, 390–91
Wilt Chamberlain and, 288
College All-Star tour and, 222
creativity of, 7, 153–54, 197–99, 279–80
early life of, 154–61
film and, 235
illness and death of, 316, 326–32
international tours and, 224–27, 237–38, 250
Legends Ring and, 381
Meadowlark Lemon vs., 293–95, 351
military career of, 168–70
Minneapolis Lakers and, 202–14, 233
pay for, 263
release of, from Globetrotters, 272–82
Tatum, Goose, Jr. “Sonny,” 320, 322, 325–29
Tatum, Naomi Hirsh, 318–19, 322–32
Tatum, Nona, 318, 328–29
Tatum, Reece, III, 280, 319, 322–32
television appearances, 280–81, 302–5, 335–38, 342, 347–48
They Cleared the Lane
(book), 229–30
Thomas, Ron, 229–30
Thomas, Willie, 220
Thornton, Dallas, 354
Toast of the Town
(show), 260
Tommy Brookins’s Globe Trotters, 43–50
training camps, 139, 152, 373
Twombly, Wells, 352
Uncle Tom issue.
See
minstrel show issue
union, players’, 346–48, 357–58
United Basketball Players Association, 358
United Negro College Fund, 378–79
United States State Department, 10, 226–27, 240–44,
vaudeville shows, 308, 309–10
Vaughn, Govoner, 309, 366–69, 381–82, 388, 390
Vecsey, George, 353
Veeck, Bill, 246, 285
Versher, Wun, 375, 389
Wagner, Ernest, 263
Walker, Elvie, 155–59
Washington, Andy, 50
Washington, Chester, 81, 105, 119, 125–26
Washington, Frank, 7, 197, 225–27, 235, 237, 260, 300, 351, 381
Washington Generals, 294, 302–5, 306, 334, 360
Watkins, Jim “Nugie,” 125, 151, 154
Watson, Bill “Ham,” 30, 39–40, 42, 43–44
Welch, Winfield, 144, 162, 179, 196, 259, 274, 278
West Coast Negro Baseball League, 187
West Germany, 227, 238–44
Wheeler, Leon, 129, 137–38
Wheeler, Sam “Boom Boom,” 192, 195, 197, 203–5, 207, 209, 281
White, Jackie, 357
white Globetrotters, 169–70
Wide World of Sports
(show), 336, 338, 347
Williams, Bob, 353
Wilson, Clarence, 235, 284–85
Wilson, Michael “Wild Thing,” 385, 387
Wilson, Rollo, 255
Winter, Max, 201, 209, 210
women
as Globetrotter players 357–58, 381, 388, 391
Mannie Jackson’s management and, 373
Abe Saperstein and, 299–300
sexual activity and, 296–300
Goose Tatum and, 277, 317–19
white, 267, 299–300
Woodard, Lynette, 357–58, 381, 388, 391
Woods, Parnell, 284, 315
world colored championship claim, 71, 74–75.
See also
World Professional Invitational Basketball Tournaments
World Professional Invitational Basketball Tournaments, 105–20, 126–38, 150–51, 166, 170, 201
World Series of Basketball.
See
College All-Star tours
world tours.
See
international tours
World War II, 106–7, 126–27, 163–66, 168–73
Wright, Walter “Toots,” 26, 30, 31, 36, 39, 42, 43–44, 46, 50, 53, 56, 65, 73
Wrigley Field, 279
Young, Dick, 5
Young, Fay, 38, 100, 138, 255, 257
Zeigler, Vertes, 7, 152, 192–97, 203–9, 268, 278
Zinkoff, Dave, 249–50
Zulu Cannibal Giants, 161–62
BEN GREEN
is the highly acclaimed author of
Before His Time
,
The Soldier of Fortune Murders
, and
Finest Kind
. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and is on the faculty of Florida State University.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
for
SPINNING THE GLOBE
“Green, whose previous books include
Before His Time
and
The Soldier of Fortune Murders,
captures the drama and conflicts of this rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story, and his descriptions of some of the Globetrotter games (against their onetime black archrival, the New York Renaissance, and against college all-star teams) give the reader the sense of being there…. Green puts readers on the road with the Trotters, through good times and bad, and draws us into the Magic Circle.”
—Ira Berkow,
New York Times Book Review
“Green has written an ambitious, engaging book on the history of the team.”
—
Black Issues Book Review
“Green’s straightforward but respectful approach carries over into a balanced handling of the ‘minstrel show’ reputation that dogged the Globetrotters almost from the beginning, as well as a brief account of the team’s modern revival after being bought by a former player. The overall effect of this vividly rendered history is to make readers wish they could see the Globetrotters it describes in action.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“This book title is the first complete history of the Globetrotters ever assembled under one cover. It describes a team that played for fun and frolic (and still does to this very day), bringing the game of basketball within a fun-filled family setting…. Comedian Bill Cosby, an official one-dollar-a-year contract player for the Globetrotters, provided the foreword to this informative book.”
—
Accessibly Live Off-Line
“Green’s historical look at the Globetrotters flows naturally and isn’t just for sports fans. This historical account eloquently explains the perseverance of the Globetrotters despite all obstacles. Readers will feel like they are riding in the back of owner and coach Abe Saperstein’s Model T with the Globetrotters traveling from game to game.”
—Scripps Howard
“When you pick up this book, you might think that it’s only about the Harlem Globetrotters, but that’s not all you’ll find inside. Author Ben Green dribbles a lot of history in with the Globetrotters’ story, and his descriptions of small-town Depression-era America are so vivid that you almost feel like you were there last week….
Spinning the Globe
is a sure shot.”
—Terri Schlichenmeyer,
Bookworm Sez
“Green’s [
Spinning the Globe
is a] definitive, myth-shattering, 414-page biography about the Harlem Globetrotters—the first authorized book about the world-famous basketball team that revolutionized the game.”
—
Tallahassee Democrat
Cover design by Laura Klynstra Blost
Cover photograph of Kris Bruton by John E. Kasko
“Here Interred Lies the Remains of the Man Sambo,” on Chapter 16, from
Sambo: The Rise and Fall of an American Jester
, by Joseph Boskin, copyright © 1986 by Joseph Boskin. Used by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.
SPINNING THE GLOBE
. Copyright © 2005 by Ben Green. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition June 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-196020-8
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