Abraham Michael Saperstein was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily before those sports were racially integrated.
Saperstein, circa 1950s
Abe Saperstein and Sylvia Franklin at their wedding in 1934
Saperstein's grave at Westlawn Cemetery
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and territories, mostly against deliberately ineffective opponents, such as the Washington Generals and the New York Nationals (1995–2015). The team's signature song is Brother Bones' whistled version of "Sweet Georgia Brown", and their mascot is an anthropomorphized globe named "Globie". The team is owned by Herschend Family Entertainment.
The 1950 World Series Harlem Globetrotters, with owner Abe Saperstein (right) and team secretary W. S. Welch (left)
The Globetrotters' Magic Circle in 2019
Wilt Chamberlain, the first Globetrotter to have his jersey number retired, played for the Globetrotters from 1958 to 1959.
Soupy Sales and the Harlem Globetrotters; from a 1969 television special