The Harlem Globetrotters Lost?

oin us as we dive into a unique topic where the Harlem Globetrotters after winning over 8,000 games in a row finally lose to legend NBA player and his All-Stars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar while playing a series in Europe showing that the Globetrotters are not just for show and can actually be beaten in a game.



#basketball #harlem #globetrotters #winning #lakers #kareem #unique #barnstorming #nba #legend

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
On September twelfth, nineteen ninety five, after winning eight thousand,
eight hundred and twenty nine games, the Harlem Glow Trotters
finally lose, ending their years long wind streak, during which
they became literally global phenomenons. Here's the story behind the

(00:21):
wind streak. Today on Daily Sports History, Welcome to Daily
Sports History, Amy Therees, your guide to help you learn
more about sports history daily, and today's trivia question is
what NBA legend ended in the Harlem glow Trotters streak. Now,

(00:46):
we covered the Harlem Glow Trotters how they started in
another episode and will include that in the description if
you want to go back and listen. But a brief
overview is they actually did not start in Harlem. They
started in Illinois and took the name Harlem as they
were an all black team in Harlem was the pinnacle
of African American culture at the time, and they actually
would not play a game in Harlem until nineteen sixty

(01:08):
eight and would barnstorm around the world and actually won
a world championship before they started to do all their
antics that they do now today. They've had greats such
as Meadow Larkleomon, Fred Curley, Neil Reese, Goostatum, and Lewis
sweetleud Dunbar. They've actually had also had NBA greats such
as Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain Wee, Willie Gardner, Connie the

(01:32):
Hawk Hawkins, and Nate Sweetwater Clifton, who became the first
African American to sign an NBA contract. Now, if you
look at the total of the Harlem gl Clutter's career
from when they started in nineteen twenty six, they have
an insane record of over twenty two thousand wins and
just under four hundred losses. And so even though they

(01:55):
started as a real basketball team and won a World
championship versus the Minnesota Lakers, over time they got relegated
to being just a barn storming team, which means they
travel around the world to play exhibition games, and they
mainly played the Washington Generals, and the Generals generally lose,
so most of those wins came versus the Washington Generals,

(02:15):
but they did play other teams, including some colleges. And
even though they have all these antics, the bal tricks
and the jokes they do for the crowds that they
do that everyone loves, they still are a very good team,
and the team consists of former NBA players or high
level college players who work on crazy skills like doing

(02:36):
half court shots with ease, or shooting behind the back
or doing crazy dribble drills. These are iconic things that
they are known for, but that doesn't mean they can't
play real games, and in nineteen ninety five, they actually
set up a series of eleven games to be played
across Europe against Kareem out of Jabbar and his All Stars,

(02:57):
which featured players like Jojo Wa, Hight, Tiny Archibald and
Bo Kimball who was famous for his left handed shot
with Leola Maramount and so all these players were mainly
college stars or fringe NBA players, just like Rhum Globe
Trotters and out. Kareem actually had some history with the Globetrotters,
as in nineteen sixty nine, when he graduated from UCLA,

(03:18):
he was actually offered a one million dollar contract to
play for the Globetrotters instead of going to the NBA.
He turned down that contract and went on to have
one of the best NBA careers of all time. And
coming into this the Globetrotters had not lost the game
in twenty four years, and over their time they had
only lost. They had only lost a little over three

(03:40):
hundred games, including from when they first started and played
some serious basketball, including the World Championship. But on September twelfth,
nineteen sixty five, in Vienna, Austria, the Globetrotters were facing
off against Kareem Autdo Jabbar and his All Stars. Now
Kareem at the time was the big name. He had
retired from the NBA few years earlier, and he was

(04:01):
forty eight years old, but he still had a lot
of skill and in this game he scored thirty four
points and his coveted skyhook could not be beat. Bo Kimball,
the former college standout, also scored thirteen points along with
grabbing eight rebounds, and led them to a six point
victory ninety one to eighty five, the first loss since

(04:24):
nineteen seventy one. And following the loss, Kareem said, that
was a very good team and they impressed our team
and how poised they were even after they lost. And
this was just the third game in their eleven game series,
and the Globe Tritters actually actually won two of them,
but this was the only game that Kareem's team would win,
as the Globe Tritters would go eleven to one in

(04:46):
this series and would start a new streak after this,
continuing their great basketball history. And the Globe Titers are
still around to this day as they mainly play the
Washington Generals, but they do play some college team and
they start in two thousand and seven actually holding an
annual draft a few days before the NBA Draft where
they select some players that they feel would fit the mold.

(05:07):
And they've had some interesting options that they've picked, as
they have picked Usain Bolt, Mariano Rivera, Johnny Manzel, Dude Perfect,
Kevin Hart, Gal Gadott, Aaron Judge, Tim Tevo, and Chadwick Boseman.
In twenty twenty one, they actually petitioned to be an
expansion team in the NBA. Now that's unlikely given how

(05:29):
the Globe Triters are set up, but it just shows
that they're still pushing the envelope and still having a
lot of fun and are willing to get their hands
dirty and play a few real games every now and then.
And if you ever get the chance to see the Globetrotters,
I definitely recommend taking it. As it will be an
experience that you will always love and always remember. Even

(05:49):
if the game might seem scripted, might not seem real,
these players have great skill, and who knows, maybe you'll
actually see the Globe Trotters get a loss in one
of their games. I want to thank you for listening
to today's Daily Sports History. If you like this, please
follow us on our socials. We're on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube,

(06:10):
macedon threads, wherever you'd like to socialize. We're there at
Daily Sports History and come back tomorrow for more Daily
Sports History and the answer to today's trivia question. What
NBA legend ended in the Harlem glowed Trutter's street Kareem
outdo jabbar