Would You Elect the Harlem Globetrotters to the HOF

Hey...I've got a great idea for all the web-savvy art-savvy people out there. Paste the Rockets' heads on those '63 'Trotters. Aw, man, that would be absolutely hilarious.

And yes, I would elect the HGT to the HOF.

 

Hell yes they belong in the Hall! Both for their history and their accomplishments. Here's some info from their site:

Saperstein's team makes its debut on January 7, 1927 in Hinckley, Illinois, before a crowd of 300. The total payout for the game was $75. The team wore uniforms with NEW YORK on them; no doubt in giving the crowd the impression they were from that city. Saperstein would later add his family name to the jersey thereafter, "Saperstein's New York Globetrotters." The Globetrotters traveled on-the-road packed into Saperstein's Model "T" Ford.

One night during the 1939 season, the Globetrotters are leading a local opponent by the score of 112-5. The Globetrotters begin to clown around and the crowd loved it. After the game, Saperstein informed his players that it was OK to add more clowning in the games, but only when they had established a safe lead on the scoreboard. Inman Jackson initiates the team's "Clown Prince" of basketball role and created the pivot position now used by all levels of basketball.

In 1940, the Globetrotters play their 2,000th career game in Bellingham, Washington, and conclude the regular season tour with a 159-8 record. Returning to Chicago, the team accepts an invitation to compete in the World Professional Basketball tournament. In the finals, the Globetrotters defeat George Halas' Chicago Bruins in overtime, 31-29, and capture their first-ever World Basketball Championship. The Globetrotters return to Chicago Stadium and play a game against the College All-Stars before a crowd of 22,000. During the summer, the team established its first basketball training camp in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Training camp is now an annual tradition for the Globetrotters and basketball teams around the world.

In 1946, the Harlem Globetrotters celebrate their 20th season, as they play their 3,000th career game in Vancouver, British Columbia. With the end of World War II, the Globetrotters make their first-ever overseas trip to the United States Territory of Hawaii. The team plays in front of American GI's and huge crowds during a 17-game series. After 20 years, 3,000 games, a World Championship, and a .927 winning percentage, the Globetrotters begin gaining national and international recognition for themselves and the sport. Time LIFE Magazine features the team in the Dec. 2, 1946, issue.

On February 20, 1948, the Cinderella team, consisting of Ermer Robinson, Ducky Moore, Sam Wheeler, Goose Tatum, Marques Haynes, Babe Pressley, Ted Strong, Vertes Ziegler, and Wilbert King defeat George Mikan, Jim Pollard and the World Champion Minneapolis Lakers, 61-59, before a crowd of 17,823 at Chicago Stadium.

On February 28, 1949, the highly anticipated re-match between the Harlem Globetrotters and the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers takes place. The Lakers featured the best players in the half-century with 6-10 center George Mikan and were rated as the top basketball team in the world, while the Globetrotters entered the game riding a 113-game win streak. The Globetrotters once again proved who was the best basketball team in the world, as they defeated the Lakers, 49-45, before an enthusiastic crowd of 21,866 at Chicago Stadium. During the 1949 season, the Globetrotters become the first professional team to tour the Territory of Alaska, playing 14 games in five days.

For the first time in National Basketball Association (NBA) league history, the NBA decides to sign black players in 1950. Shortly after, the Boston Celtics sign Duquene star Chuck Cooper and the New York Knicks purchase Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton's contract from the Harlem Globetrotters for $25,000. Since the Knick's season begins one day earlier than the Celtics, "Sweetwater" Clifton becomes the first-ever black athlete to play in the NBA. Clifton would play eight seasons in the NBA, appearing in nearly 600 contests and one All-Star game. Also, Saperstein organizes basketball's first-ever trip across the North Atlantic, visiting Portugal, Switzerland, England, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, and Algeria.

The Silver Anniversary is celebrated in 1952 with a 108-game around the world tour, the first in the history of basketball.

In 1954, the Globetrotters become the first sports attraction to play under the lights at Chicago's Wrigley Field, as Saperstien arranges for portable lightning to be brought in for the game.

On July 15, 1955, the Globetrotters post their 5,000th career victory in Beirut, Lebanon.

In 1956, the Globetrotters popularity was so huge that four separate teams were on tour, playing seven days a week. At the time there were only eight NBA teams, each playing a 72-game schedule. In fact, the Globetrotters were playing more games each year than the entire NBA. In Peru, a nasty civil war is put on hold for four days to allow the Globetrotters to play a few games. When the team's plane departs the war resumes.

The Globetrotters play their 7,000th career game in 1959 and also post their first undefeated season as they finish with 441 wins. The team makes their first trip to Moscow to begin a sold-out tour of the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe. General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev greets the players prior to the start of the game at Moscow's Lenin Central Stadium.

On September 5, 1970, a new television cartoon series debuts on the CBS Network, "The Harlem Globetrotters Show." The series was an instant hit, earning the highest ratings in the history of Saturday morning television. It ran on the network for three years and was syndicated to more than 30 countries around the world, marking the first time any sports team had its own network television series.

On December 6, 1974, the Globetrotters played in their 12,000th career game at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. President Gerald Ford salutes the team by honoring them as "America's Ambassadors of Goodwill."

In 1979, Premier Deng-Hsiao Ping of the People's Republic of China makes an historic visit to the United States. One of his requests was to meet the Harlem Globetrotters. The team plays a special exhibition for him, which is broadcast by satellite back to China to 900 million viewers.

In 1985, The Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of American Social History honors the Globetrotters with their own exhibit on permanent display. The Institute cites the team as "An Important Part of American Social History."

In 1996, celebrating their 70th anniversary, the Harlem Globetrotters become history's first professional basketball squad to play in a free democratic South Africa in June. Clinics and charity games attract thousands and over a million dollars is donated to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.

In 2000, Q Sports Ratings name the Harlem Globetrotters as the most recognized sports team in the world.

So, any arguments against?

 

Well, if the Globetrotters get to go to the HOF, then I think that the street basketball all-stars should too. GOAT, Skip-to-my-lou, and others should be in there too.

 

Rockets new uni's gotta include those cool kneepad/striped sock thingies. They're cool.


Also, the 'I can tell from here whether he's Jewish' shorts might help attendance. You'd be a much bigger draw for the lucrative 'Le Bare' croud.

 

RocketsRUs


That was a joke right? The Globetrotters helped to end segregation in basketball...Skip to my Lou sits on his butt watching Milwaukee lose and makes and 1 videos.

 

One thing I've noticed about Rockets R Us is that he has some sort of fixation with Rafer Alston...

He's a poor man's Moochie Norris.

 

Hey hey, I'm just saying that if he was on a better team that gave him more playing time, he might be able to flourish more. Milwaukee has to keep the big three in more then 3/4 of the time because they barely ever hang in. And he's not a poor man's moochie norris, he's an average, suburban-middle class man's Moochie Norris.

 

No, it wasn't. I think the HOF should not just be about helping basketball history, but it should also be about basketball skill. And don't tell me that well, if they were in the NBA, they'd suck because, have any of the globetrotters been in the NBA and flourished? Probably 1-5, same number as the street ballers who've come to the NBA and flourished.

 

Basketball Skill?




Rafer Alston has done nothing in the NBA. Zero. Zip. Zilch. He's made some great And 1 videos, but he lacks the court vision other players like Tinsley (another streetballer) have. There's a reason he sits on his butt in Milwaukee, it's because he just doesn't have a game that translates well in the NBA.


If you really think that because the Globetrotters get in the HOF then Rafer "2 minutes a game" Alston does too....I won't bother with this argument any more.

 

PS. Ever heard of God Shammgod?