Mel Davis Harlem Globetrotters Card
date: label: date made
content: 1971
name: label: depicted
content: Davis, Mel
label: publisher
content: Harlem Globetrotters, Inc.
label: publisher
content: Topps Chewing Gum
label: maker
content: Fleer Corp.
label: maker
content: Harlem Globetrotters, Inc.
notes: label: Description
content: This Mel Davis Harlem Globetrotters card is number 38 in a series of 84 featuring the Harlem Globetrotter basketball team that was issued by the Fleer Corporation in 1972. The front of the card features an image of the Harlem Globetrotters guard kneeing a basketball, posed on a blue background. The card’s reverse lists the player’s height, weight, school, and residence, as well as a short biography.
label: Description
content: The Harlem Globetrotters—originally called the Savoy Big Five—were founded in 1927 as a promotion for the Savoy Ballroom nightclub in Chicago. The team soon changed their name to associate themselves with the African-American cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. This gave the Globetrotters the prestige of being associated with Harlem, while also letting white Midwestern audiences know what to expect when the team came to town. Before the advent and rise of the NBA, the Globetrotters drove to small towns in the Midwest and played competitive games against other semi professional teams in a practice known as “barnstorming.” The Globetrotters soon became one of the America’s best teams, and they began to incorporate “The Show” into their games to keep the score close. As the years went by, these tricks and comedic routines became the centerpiece of Globetrotter games that they are still known for today.
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
topic: label: name of sport or game
content: Basketball
label: level of sport
content: Professional
label: web subject
content: Sports
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
label: See more items in
content: Basketball Cards
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1982.0568.130
label: accession number
content: 1982.0568
label: catalog number
content: 1982.0568.130
objectType: label: Object Name
content: card, basketball
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 1/2 in x 2 1/2 in; 8.89 cm x 6.35 cm