The history of the Harlem Globetrotters and their influence in Chicago and beyond

From playing in empty swimming pools, barn lofts and dance halls to commanding the attention of millions of fans around the world, the Harlem Globetrotters have had an incredible run that now approaches 100 years – and it all started in Chicago.

According to a new book, "Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports," the Globetrotters ventured beyond the normal sports boundaries, touching race relations and even geopolitics along the way.

Written by former Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times editor Mark Jacob, "Globetrotter" tells the story of Harlem Globetrotter founder Abe Saperstein. Saperstein was a master organizer and promoter, who bonded with his Black players over a shared hatred of discrimination and love of sports.

“[Saperstein] thought by presenting these talented Black players [as] fun-loving and friendly and great people to be around, he would prove racism was stupid,” Jacob said on a recent episode of "The Takeaway with Alex."

America in the 1920s did not embrace racial harmony or basketball, and the Globetrotters presented both during hundreds of events every year across the country. Jacob called Saperstein a “fake it ‘til you make it kind of guy,” evidenced by the team neither being from Harlem and nor trotting the globe.

“[Saperstein] wanted to signal to these all-white towns that ‘Hey, I’m bringing Black ballplayers into your town,’” Jacob said. “Harlem was code for Black at the time.”

Today, the world knows the Globetrotters as the leader in basketball tricks and comedy on the court, but it wasn’t always this way. Though basketball was a nascent sport at the time of the Globetrotters’ founding – with different rules back then, such as legal goaltending -- many of the best players in the world were on their roster, and they played lots of “serious” games. Comedy was a foundational aspect, but the Globetrotters could beat the best teams in the world.

“They ultimately became the best team in the world,” said Jacob. “In the '40s, they won the second pro-basketball [championship] here in Chicago.”

As the Globetrotters’ influence grew, Saperstein became a more influential figure in American sports. He helped sustain baseball’s Negro leagues, and pushed for racial integration in Major League Baseball years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in April 1946. Saperstein forged a friendship and alliance in the early 1940s with future Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck, who was involved in Minor League baseball at the time.

“[They] thought that the color barrier was stupid and ridiculous and appalling,” Jacob said. “They had a plot to buy the [Philadelphia] Phillies, have spring training go on as normal with a white team, but sub in the greatest Black players around in the Negro Leagues at the time as a Philadelphia Phillies team on opening day, and just kind of surprise [all of] Major League Baseball.”

The plan never came to fruition, but it cemented Saperstein’s desire to push the boundaries of American sports. Jacob said Saperstein was always experimenting and evolving, even proposing new rules for basketball, like the three-point shot.

The idea started with Columbia University student in 1945, but took a long time to find wide appeal. Saperstein heard about the idea before founding the American Basketball League in the early 1960s. That league wasn’t well received and quickly shut down, but fans loved the new three-point idea. The American Basketball Association adopted the rule, and ultimately influenced the controversial decision to add it to the NBA in 1979.

“It’s a big part of basketball,” Jacob said. “It’s very influential…Everyone assumes that’s the way it’s always been, but it’s not true at all.”

The popularity of the Globetrotters and basketball itself goes hand in hand. The US government thought the team was such a positive representation of the country that the State Department worked with Saperstein to expand Globetrotter games abroad, said Jacob. He explained how his brother and co-author, Matthew Jacob, found de-classified State Department records at the National Archives that describe this period.

“It’s the Cold War and the Soviet Union is criticizing the U.S. for discriminating against Black people, and certainly the U.S. was discriminating against Black people, especially with Jim Crow laws in the South,” Mark Jacob said. “The State Department, from the top levels, decided that one of the best ways they could project [that] America was a good country for everyone was to support the Globetrotters' international tours. They did all kinds of things to help promote the Globetrotters. They also suggested what countries they went to.”

Jacob said the State Department even helped the Globetrotters print tickets and get Soviet currencies out of the countries in which they played.

“In effect, the Globetrotters were one of the best weapons the U.S. had in the Cold War to promote this pro-American view overseas,” Jacob said.