Trivia Tuesday: Harlem Globetrotters

Come one, come all! Tomorrow night, Olivet’s McHie Arena will host the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters.

Though today they are known for routines filled will hilarious mischief and impressive tricks, the Harlem Globetrotters were first established to be a competitive basketball team.

In 1926, a 5’3” British immigrant named Abe Saperstein recruited five black ballplayers from the Chicago slums to play two games per week at the Savoy Ballroom on Chicago’s South Side.

At that time, African Americans were barred from playing professional ball, and so when the Savoy Ballroom was eventually shut down, the team was left without a home to play. So they took to the road, traveling practically anywhere to challenge anyone willing play them.

Hoping to increase their credibility, and to denote their complexions, Saperstein redubbed the team the “Harlem Globetrotters,” though they had never stepped foot outside of the U.S. — or ever been to Harlem!

In fact, it wasn’t for several years — and more than 9,500 games — that the Harlem Globetrotters made their first public appearance in Harlem, New York. In what year did this take place?

Take a guess in the comments section, and we’ll post the correct answer next week.

Answer to last week’s question: Since intercollegiate men’s basketball was established in 1966, Olivet has only had two head coaches: C.W. Ward and one of his star players, Ralph Hodge.