The Harlem Globetrotters Lost?

On September 12, 1995, after winning 8,829 games, the Harlem Globetrotters finally lose, ending their years-long win streak, during which they became literally global phenomenons. Here's the story behind their win streak today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide to help you learn more about sports history daily. And today's trivia question is, what NBA legend ended the Harlem Globetrotters streak? Now we covered the Harlem Globetrotters and how they started in another episode. We'll 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. And Harlem was the pinnacle of African-American culture at the time. And they actually would not play a game in Harlem until 1968. 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 Meadowlark Lemon, Fred Curley-Neal, Reese Gustatum, and Louis Sweet Lou Dunbar. They've also had NBA greats such as Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain, Wee Willie Gardner, Connie the 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 Globetrotters' career from when they started in 1926, they have an insane record of over 22,000 wins and just under 400 losses. And so even though they started as a real basketball team and won a world championship versus the Minnesota Lakers, over time, they got relegated to being just a barnstorming 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. But they did play other teams, including some colleges. And even though they have all these antics, the ball tricks, and the jokes they do for the crowds 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 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 1995, they actually set up a series of 11 games to be played across Europe against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his All-Stars, which featured players like JoJo White, Tiny Archibald, and Bo Kimble, who was famous for his left-handed shot with Loyola Marymount. And so all these players were mainly college stars or fringe NBA players, just like the Harlem Globetrotters. And Kareem actually had some history with the Globetrotters, as in 1969, when he graduated from UCLA, he was actually offered a $ 1 million 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 a game in 24 years. And over their time, they had only lost a little over 300 games, including from when they first started and played some serious basketball, including the World Championships. But on September 12, 1955, in Vienna, Austria, the Globetrotters were facing off against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his All-Stars. Now, Kareem, at the time, was the big name. He had retired from the NBA a few years earlier, and he was 48 years old. But he still had a lot of skill. And in this game, he scored 34 points. And his coveted skyhook could not be beat. Bo Kimble, the former college standout, also scored 13 points. along with grabbing eight rebounds, and led them to a six-point victory, 91-85. The first loss since 1971. And following the loss, Kareem said, that was a very good team, and they impressed our team in how poised they were even after they lost. And this was just the third game in their 11-game series, and the Globetrotters actually won two of them, But this was the only game that Kareem's team would win as the Globetrotters would go 11-1 in this series and would start a new streak after this, continuing their great basketball history. And the Globetrotters are still around to this day as they mainly play the Washington Generals, but they do play some college team. And they started in 2007, actually holding an annual draft a few days before the NBA draft, where they select some players that they feel would fit the mold. And they've had some interesting options that they've picked as they have picked Usain Bolt, Mariano Rivera, Johnny Manziel, Dude Perfect, Kevin Hart, Gal Gadot, Aaron Judge, Tim Tebow, and Chadwick Boseman. In 2021, they actually petitioned to be an expansion team in the NBA. Now that's unlikely given how the go-triers 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 if the game might seem scripted, might not seem real, these players have great skill. And who knows, maybe you'll actually see the Globetrotters 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, Mastodon, 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 the Harlem Globetrotters' streak? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Thank you.