Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism and comedy. They are a "barnstorming" team, which means they travel around the world playing basketball in many different places.  Sometimes they play college or pro teams, but usually they play a team called the Washington Generals.

They were founded in 1925 in Chicago.  Almost all their players are African-American, which was unusual at the time of their founding (at that time, most professional basketball players were white).  In the 1930s and 1940s, they were one of the best basketball teams in the country, along with the New York Rens, another African-American basketball team.  By the 1950s, a lot of black players started playing in the NBA, and the Globetrobbers became a clown team.  

The best-known Globetrotter is Meadowlark Lemon.  Wilt Chamberlain played for the Globetrotters for a while.  They were placed in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a team in 2001.

Category:Basketball teams in the United States
Category:American entertainers
Category:African-American people