The Harlem Globetrotters originated as the Savoy Big Five in 1926 and changed their name in 1927 to leverage the cultural significance of Harlem, NY. They were initially a serious basketball team, and began incorporating tricky plays and humor into the game around 1930. They also helped break racial barriers within the sport, beating the Minneapolis Lakers, the all-white NBA champions, in 1948 and 1949 in front of packed houses. The 1949 game, held at Chicago Stadium, drew the largest crowd ever to witness a professional basketball game. They continued to play for capacity crowds wherever they went.

And they were good ball players, winning 65 of 66 games in 1950, a pivotal year.  Also in 1950, former Globetrotter Nat “Sweetwater” Clinton became the first Black player to sign with the NBA when he joined the New York Knicks, and the Globetrotters embarked on their first international tour, a 3-month trip to Europe and Africa.

Nicknames became a trademark of the brand: Goose Tatum, Fred “Curly” Neal (he was bald), Meadowlark “Clown Prince” Lemon, and the young 7’1” Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain all helped make history for the team. The Globetrotters eventually toured with “all-star” opponents who trained with them and were in on the act—because the act required precision. The opposing team was the Washington Generals, but the name and uniforms changed over the years to include the “New York Nationals”, "Boston Shamrocks", "New Jersey Reds", "Baltimore Rockets", and "Atlantic City Seagulls", with the same players. That razzle-dazzle ballhandling, the wink-wink interference with referees, the theatrics with the crowd (the bucket that looked like water but was really shredded paper) required impeccable timing, elite athleticism, professional-caliber basketball chops—and just the right balance to keep the game believable.

When Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Hall opened in 1965, the Globetrotters were one of its first major attractions, playing the Washington Generals for $1.50–$4.00 a ticket, with the Czechoslovakian Folk Dancers as the opening act. In front of a sellout crowd of 8,000, they won 104–92. The team returned annually for the next few years, eventually stretching their Bay Area visits into a two-night run by adding St. Petersburg’s Bayfront Center. Through the 1970s and ’80s, they bounced between Curtis Hixon, Bayfront, the Lakeland Civic Center, and—later—the USF Sun Dome. In 1995, they appeared in the Thunderdome (the tattered building we now know as Tropicana Field).

And they’re still touring. The faces (and prices) have changed, but the mischievous swagger, the world-class ballhandling, and that earworm whistled theme— “Sweet Georgia Brown”—remain. Want to reminisce with some vintage entertainment? The Globetrotters return to Tampa Bay in January 2026 for a stop at the Yuengling Center on the USF campus. Seats are priced from $70 to $581 each.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved