Harlem Globetrotters history

They played their first road game in Hinckley, Illinois on January 7, 1927.

The team, which became known as the "Harlem New York Globetrotters" in 1930, toured throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa by the beginning of the 1930s, compiling an impressive record against locally organized adversaries.

The team played in small markets until it made its debut in its first major city in 1932, when the five-year-old team played in Detroit.

In 1934, the organization played its 1,000th game, finishing the year with 152 wins and two losses, typical of the dominance of Saperstein's squad.

Expansion of the team's playing schedule had extended the geographic reach of the organization to the Pacific Northwest by 1936.

During one game in the 1939 season, Saperstein's team exhibited its considerable dominance over an opponent, assuming a 112-5 lead.

The squad played its 2,000th game in 1940, finishing the year with a 159-8 record for the season.

In 1942, the team signed Reece "Goose" Tatum, who would distinguish himself as the organization's first "basketball comedian," originating many of the routines that formed the core of the Globetrotters' portfolio of antics.

In 1946, a year in which the Globetrotters were featured in LIFE magazine, the team played its 3,000th game and its first game overseas, playing in front of United States soldiers in the United States Territory of Hawaii.

In 1950, Saperstein organized his first European tour, scheduling games in Portugal, Switzerland, England, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy.

One of the hallmarks of the Globetrotters organization, its official theme song, "Sweet Georgia Brown," achieved such status in 1952.

Annual tours throughout Europe, a demanding North American schedule, and trips to other parts of the world, such as the Soviet Union in 1959, required the formation of additional Globetrotters squads.

The team celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1966, returning to Hinckley, Illinois, for a game to mark the occasion.

In 1978, the team made its first trip to west Africa, playing in Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Gabon, which raised the tally of foreign countries visited to 97.

1986: International Broadcasting Corporation acquires the Globetrotters.

Former Globetrotters player Mannie Jackson purchased the team in 1993, becoming the first African-American to own a major international sports and entertainment organization.

The team cemented their standing as one of the world’s most influential basketball teams in 2002, receiving the sport's highest honor with induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 2003, ten years after Jackson acquired the Globetrotters, the team registered its 21,000th victory.