The Harlem Globetrotters and Basketball's Funniest Games

This is a illustrated story of the basketball team the "Harlem Globetrotters". It begins with a description of the humorous type of basketball the team plays. It then gives a history of the team. It describes how a basketball coach named Abe Saperstein was asked to coach a Chicago "all-black basketball team". He began having the team travel from town to town playing any opponents, then he changed the team's name to the "Harlem Globetrotters". The book then tells how the team was originally "very serious", and played "hard to win". But once they began gaining large scores compared to their competitors, they began performing stunts in a effort to give the viewers more entertainment, without the home team feeling bad about being beaten. It then tells about various moments in the teams history, when they played at locations that didn't have a basketball court. It mentions how Abe was not only their coach, but also their manager, and the substitute player, when they only had five regular player. It then mentions the how they entered tournaments, and were able to play more popular teams, including the "College All-Stars" basketball team. Then it mentions their humorous games, and companion rival team coached by Red Klotz. Next it mentions famous basketball players that played for the "Harlem Globetrotters"; such as Wilt Chamberlain, Nat Clifton, Bob Gibson. The book then mentions the NBA, {National Basketball Association}, and the teams theme song "Sweet Georgia Brown" and their practice warm ups using the tune. The book ends with various facts, listing important dates in the teams history, including their television show "The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine" from 1974. By the time the book was written it mentions that 270 players had been a part of the team. There are then 5 photographs of the team and some of its more famous players, such as; Reece Tatum, Fred Neal, Meadowlark Lemon. These photographs are credited as being from UPI {United Press International}.