In 1925, a young Jewish man in Chicago was trying to jumpstart a career coaching basketball. Basketball had only been around as a sport for less than thirty years, the NCAA for only 2o, and the NBA wouldn’t play its first game for another 20 years.
But Abe Saperstein had a dream. He had been a three-sport athlete in high school, playing baseball, basketball, and running track. But basketball was his true love. Opportunities for professional coaching were… inconsistent. Lots of leagues popped up and folded before you scrounged up the train fare to make it out to whatever pocket of the country they were playing in. But in 1926, Saperstein saw an opportunity, purchased the Savoy Big Five, and named himself coach. The Savoy Big Five were unique. All their games were exhibitions, played as the opening act to dances at the Savoy Ballroom; and the team consisted entirely of black players, which might explain why they only played exhibitions in the 1920s.
As owner/coach of the Savoy Big Five, Saperstein rebranded the team as the Globe Trotters, and changed their home city to Harlem. Both the players and coach were from Chicago, but Saperstein knew that with a name like the Harlem Globe Trotters, the team would be instantly identifiable with the strong black culture coming from Harlem, and add just the right amount of worldly mystique when playing games on Midwest barnstorming tours. Thus the Harlem Globetrotters were formed.
In the 85 years since, the Globetrotters have played thousands of games (mainly against their longtime foil, the Washington Generals), traveled to Cold War Moscow, helped solve mysteries with Scooby-Doo, and entertained millions.
This Friday and Saturday night, they’re coming to the Target Center, and we have a family 4-pack to give away!
The ticket vouchers are good for either the Friday night (April 12th, 7:00PM) game, or the Saturday afternoon (April 13th, 1:00PM) game. While the Globetrotters’ show is primarily aimed towards families with young children, the show is a delight for all ages!
To Win:
In the comments, give us your favorite Jewish sports figure of all time. It could be an athlete, or a coach/owner like Abe Saperstein. Winner will be drawn at random Thursday afternoon!
What: Harlem Globetrotters
When: Friday, April 12 @ 7pm; Saturday, April 13 @ 1pm
Where: Target Center
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