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Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports
The biography of Abe Saperstein, creator of the Harlem Globetrotters
The original Harlem Globetrotters weren’t from Harlem, and they didn’t start out as globetrotters. The talented all-Black team, started by Jewish immigrant Abe Saperstein, was from Chicago’s South Side and toured the region in Saperstein’s model-T. But with Saperstein’s savvy and the players’ skills, the Globetrotters would become a worldwide sensation.
When Saperstein first founded the team in the 1920s, they battled everything from blizzards to bigotry as they traveled around the Midwest. But the team steadily built a reputation for talent and comedy, increasing its footprint until it covered the entire world.
Abe Saperstein’s impact went well beyond the Harlem Globetrotters. He helped keep baseball’s Negro Leagues alive, was a force in getting pitching great Satchel Paige his shot at the majors, and befriended Olympic star Jesse Owens when he fell on hard times. And at a time when professional basketball was still struggling to attract fans, Saperstein and his Globetrotters helped the sport grow a devoted audience.
The original Harlem Globetrotters weren’t from Harlem, and they didn’t start out as globetrotters. The talented all-Black team, started by Jewish immigrant Abe Saperstein, was from Chicago’s South Side and toured the region in Saperstein’s model-T. But with Saperstein’s savvy and the players’ skills, the Globetrotters would become a worldwide sensation.
When Saperstein first founded the team in the 1920s, they battled everything from blizzards to bigotry as they traveled around the Midwest. But the team steadily built a reputation for talent and comedy, increasing its footprint until it covered the entire world.
Abe Saperstein’s impact went well beyond the Harlem Globetrotters. He helped keep baseball’s Negro Leagues alive, was a force in getting pitching great Satchel Paige his shot at the majors, and befriended Olympic star Jesse Owens when he fell on hard times. And at a time when professional basketball was still struggling to attract fans, Saperstein and his Globetrotters helped the sport grow a devoted audience.
- GenresSportsHistoryNonfiction
303 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2024
2 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Mark Jacob
19 books18 followersAuthor of books on photography, baseball, Chicago history, and the American Revolution. Longtime Chicago journalist is deputy metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, where he is co-author of the popular feature "10 Things You Might Not Know."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 11, 2024
I have had this book in my Goodreads Want to Read list since August 31st when I saw a Tweet from @SprtBookReviews about it. I was immediately intrigued as in 2022, I read Spinning the Globe: The Rise, Fall, and Return to Greatness of the Harlem Globetrotters by Ben Green.
So, I was already familiar with the team, but was looking forward to reading about the man behind the team, Abe Saperstein.
I didn’t know how much influence Abe had during his lifetime for bringing the world together and not giving a care in the world about the color of somebody’s skin. I didn’t know he helped bring Larry Doby and Satchel Paige to the Cleveland Indians baseball team in 1948 with the magnificent, Bill Veeck, as the owner. I have read a few books on Bill Veeck, and wasn’t surprised to see Abe and him having a positive business relationship.
I didn’t know it was his idea to bring the three pointer to basketball.
I didn’t know how much there tours overseas helped bring more awareness to basketball and improved relations with those countries. He even had portable basketball courts stashed overseas for those appearances.
He was a pioneer in everything he touched and grew the team into a powerhouse. Remember, this was during the 1930’s to 1960’s. The Great Depression, wars, racism, with no social media to spread the positivity of Abe and the Globetrotters. The Globetrotters barnstormed throughout the country and the team they played against the best, and won! They even defeated the Minneapolis Lakers twice during there George Mikan time.
All the gimmicks and hijinks throughout the games made it fun and the variety acts he had for halftime, were a perfect fit. Just look at an NBA game today, and you can see Abe’s influence, although you may not know it.
He was inducted after his death to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1979, and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
It was an amazing read and purview in to Abe’s life. I really enjoyed it. There were references to books, newspaper articles, and sports writers throughout the book. One book, in particular, caught my eye. It’s The Legend of Red Klotz: How Basketball s Loss Leader Won Over the World 14,000 Times, which I have just finished and am working on review now.
So, I was already familiar with the team, but was looking forward to reading about the man behind the team, Abe Saperstein.
I didn’t know how much influence Abe had during his lifetime for bringing the world together and not giving a care in the world about the color of somebody’s skin. I didn’t know he helped bring Larry Doby and Satchel Paige to the Cleveland Indians baseball team in 1948 with the magnificent, Bill Veeck, as the owner. I have read a few books on Bill Veeck, and wasn’t surprised to see Abe and him having a positive business relationship.
I didn’t know it was his idea to bring the three pointer to basketball.
I didn’t know how much there tours overseas helped bring more awareness to basketball and improved relations with those countries. He even had portable basketball courts stashed overseas for those appearances.
He was a pioneer in everything he touched and grew the team into a powerhouse. Remember, this was during the 1930’s to 1960’s. The Great Depression, wars, racism, with no social media to spread the positivity of Abe and the Globetrotters. The Globetrotters barnstormed throughout the country and the team they played against the best, and won! They even defeated the Minneapolis Lakers twice during there George Mikan time.
All the gimmicks and hijinks throughout the games made it fun and the variety acts he had for halftime, were a perfect fit. Just look at an NBA game today, and you can see Abe’s influence, although you may not know it.
He was inducted after his death to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1979, and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
It was an amazing read and purview in to Abe’s life. I really enjoyed it. There were references to books, newspaper articles, and sports writers throughout the book. One book, in particular, caught my eye. It’s The Legend of Red Klotz: How Basketball s Loss Leader Won Over the World 14,000 Times, which I have just finished and am working on review now.
October 28, 2024
Disclaimer: Mark Jacob is a friend and my co-author on 10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything: A Collection of Fascinating Historical, Scientific and Cultural Trivia about People, Places and Things.
Globetrotter is packed with interesting anecdotes about basketball team that became a truly American cultural juggernaut. I had never heard of Abe Saperstein, whom the authors successfully argue deserves to be included in any discussion of influential people in 20th century American sports and maybe even civil rights. The father of the three-point shot in basketball and a strong advocate for eliminating the color barrier in professional baseball and basketball, Saperstein was a complex person full of contradictions. This biography pulls no punches.
I also enjoyed learning more about the batshit-crazy early years of professional basketball.
Finally, the book sent me down memory lane as I hunted through newspaper archives to see when I saw the famous Harlem Globetrotters in tiny Austin, Minnesota. As it turns out, the Trotters were regular visitors in the period — 1979, 1981, and 1983. I believe it was March 1979 when my father ponied up $5 per ticket for an unforgettable evening at Riverside Arena.
Globetrotter is packed with interesting anecdotes about basketball team that became a truly American cultural juggernaut. I had never heard of Abe Saperstein, whom the authors successfully argue deserves to be included in any discussion of influential people in 20th century American sports and maybe even civil rights. The father of the three-point shot in basketball and a strong advocate for eliminating the color barrier in professional baseball and basketball, Saperstein was a complex person full of contradictions. This biography pulls no punches.
I also enjoyed learning more about the batshit-crazy early years of professional basketball.
Finally, the book sent me down memory lane as I hunted through newspaper archives to see when I saw the famous Harlem Globetrotters in tiny Austin, Minnesota. As it turns out, the Trotters were regular visitors in the period — 1979, 1981, and 1983. I believe it was March 1979 when my father ponied up $5 per ticket for an unforgettable evening at Riverside Arena.
September 9, 2025
This is the quintessential American story.
Abe Saperstein, a once-poor Jewish immigrant, felt he connected well with African Americans due to their shared marginalization. He believed there was talent untapped, so he started the Harlem Globetrotters (which was based in Chicago, ironically), promoted them, barnstormed the country with them. He marketed them to white people.
He also made basketball more popular in the US and popular worldwide, and was instrumental in integrating both baseball and basketball. He was the agent of Negro League star Satchel Paige, and helped him find a spot on a white semipro team, and then on an major league team.
It was during the Cold War, and the State Department paid him to do tours.
He said some things we'd consider racist today, and a team of black ballplayers goofing around was controversial even back then. But considering how much he helped white people see that blacks are humans, he's a net positive.
American Jews still do this kind of thing today. The Economist describes Josh Axelrod's job as "packaging black candidates for white voters," when he fell on his client Barack Obama.
I had the privilege of meeting the authors Mark and Matthew at the Gaithersburg book festival and Matt again at a SABR meeting.
Abe Saperstein, a once-poor Jewish immigrant, felt he connected well with African Americans due to their shared marginalization. He believed there was talent untapped, so he started the Harlem Globetrotters (which was based in Chicago, ironically), promoted them, barnstormed the country with them. He marketed them to white people.
He also made basketball more popular in the US and popular worldwide, and was instrumental in integrating both baseball and basketball. He was the agent of Negro League star Satchel Paige, and helped him find a spot on a white semipro team, and then on an major league team.
It was during the Cold War, and the State Department paid him to do tours.
He said some things we'd consider racist today, and a team of black ballplayers goofing around was controversial even back then. But considering how much he helped white people see that blacks are humans, he's a net positive.
American Jews still do this kind of thing today. The Economist describes Josh Axelrod's job as "packaging black candidates for white voters," when he fell on his client Barack Obama.
I had the privilege of meeting the authors Mark and Matthew at the Gaithersburg book festival and Matt again at a SABR meeting.
April 11, 2025
This is an extremely well-written (and well-researched) combination biography and history. The authors worked diligently to do in-depth research and present a well-balanced picture of an amazing person. While presenting an often positive side of Saperstein and his actions, they do not shy away from including criticisms from his detractors. They do an excellent job of detailing his successes and failures while weaving those with insights into the man himself and how he interacted with others. The variety of resources (meticulously cited) contributes to the breadth of both the historical and biographical perspectives presented.
The authors (and the long list of acknowledged "assistants") can congratulate themselves on a job well done.
The authors (and the long list of acknowledged "assistants") can congratulate themselves on a job well done.
September 16, 2025
Thorough history of the globetrotters, Abe saperstein, and how together they changed the world of basketball. Having gone to one of their games in the 70's, it was interesting to hear how much they struggled up to that point.
October 5, 2025
While the writing wasn’t great, the story on how Abe Saperstein built The Globetrotters is well researched and very interesting. He was an amazing promoter and inventor of the 3-Point shot. A worthwhile and relatively quick read.
January 1, 2025
3&1/2 Stars
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews