Washington Generals

Washington Generals
Founded 1917
History Philadelphia Sphas
(1917–52)
Washington Generals
(1952–present)
Boston Shamrocks
(1971-72)
New Jersey Reds
(1971-72)
Baltimore Rockets
(1971-72)
Atlantic City Seagulls
(1971-72)
New York Nationals
(1995-2006)
City Washington, DC
Team colors green yellow
         
Owner(s) Red Klotz
General manager John Ferrari
Head coach Red Klotz
D-League affiliate none
Championships ABL: 7 (1933-34, 1935-36, 1936-37, 1939-40, 1940-41, 1942-43, 1944-45)
Division titles None
Official website washingtongenerals.com

The Washington Generals are an American exhibition basketball team, best known for their spectacular losing streak in exhibition games against the Harlem Globetrotters.

Contents

History

The Generals were created in 1952 by Louis "Red" Klotz as a redesignation of the Philadelphia Sphas basketball team. Globetrotters’ owner Abe Saperstein had invited Klotz to create a squad to accompany his team on their tours. With a nod to Dwight D. Eisenhower, the team was named the Washington Generals.

The Generals provided deliberately ineffective opposition as a foil for the Globetrotters' comedy routines. The Globetrotters' acts often featured incredible coordination and skillful handling of one or more basketballs, such as passing or juggling balls between players, balancing or spinning balls on their fingertips, and making unusual, difficult shots. The Generals on the other hand would try to play a game of "serious" basketball in return.

During the 1971-72 season, the Generals' name was alternated with the Boston Shamrocks, New Jersey Reds, Baltimore Rockets, and Atlantic City Seagulls. It was actually the same team of players but they would change uniforms between games to give the appearance of more teams. The team would rotate between these identities for a few seasons before going back to the Generals identity full-time.

From 1953 until 1995, the Generals played exhibitions against the Globetrotters, winning only six games, the last in 1971, and losing more than 13,000. It was as the New Jersey Reds that the Generals' last win came in a game against the Globetrotters. On January 5, 1971, the Globetrotters lost a game in Martin, Tennessee, in overtime to the Reds. It was Klotz himself who sank the winning basket for a 100-99 score that ended the Globetrotters' 2,499-game winning streak.

Klotz eventually "disbanded" the Generals in 1995, forming a new team, the New York Nationals, which also has achieved an impressive losing streak. In reality, of course, it was the same team; Klotz merely retired the Washington Generals identity. The Nationals remain a separate organization from the Globetrotters. Harlem claims its exhibition games are "real" and "competitive" contests.[1]

After a 12-year hiatus, the Generals returned on October 9, 2007, playing against the Globetrotters at the 369th Harlem Armory. The Globetrotters won 54-50.[2]

Current roster

Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (Y–M–D) From
Beal, Eric 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) – Whitworth University*
Birch, David 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) – KS Ottawa University*
Bonner, Marcus 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) – Guilford College*
Byrnes, Matthew 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) – Rowan University*
Davis, Ephrem 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) – Robert Morris University*
Faust, Shawn 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) – University of West Florida*
Hall, Jonte 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) – Catonsville Community College*
Herren, Grant 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) – Presbyterian College*
Howell, Dwayne 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) – Snead College*
Jackson, James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) – Bellarmine University*
Jones, Cameron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) – Robert Morris*
Bush, Andy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) – Prairie State Community College*
Lancaster, Ryan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) – Holy Family*
Leasure, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) – Lake Erie College DIV II*
Malone, Clifton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) – NY Fashion Institute of Technology*
McClurkin, Julian 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) – North Carolina A&T University*
Miles, Jimmie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) – Robert Morris University*
Samuels, Dwane 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) – Virginia State University*
Smith, Anthony 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) – Robert Morris University*
Spann, Abraham 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) – CW Post College*
Talley, Lemeire 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) – Gwynedd-Mercy College*
Thomas, Jadin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) – Mt. Veron Nazarene University*
Vilsaint, James 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) – University of West Florida*
White, Tyler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) – Tusculum College*
Brady, Daniel 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) – University of Missouri Kansas City*
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Ben Augustine (Misericordia College*)
  • Ammer Johnson (Idaho State)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured
  • * High school

Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2010-12-14

Beating the Harlem Globetrotters

The Reds defeated the Globetrotters 100-99 on January 5, 1971 in Martin, Tennessee. It ended a 2,495-game winning streak. Klotz credits the overtime win to a guard named Eddie Mahar, who was team captain.[3] Harlem's captain, Curly Neal, did not play in this game.[4]

While the Globetrotters were entertaining the crowd that day, they lost track of the game and the score. They found themselves down 12 points with two minutes left to go. Forced to play normal basketball, the Globetrotters rallied but could not recover.[5]

The Reds secured their victory when Klotz hit the winning basket with seconds left. Then Meadowlark Lemon missed a shot that would have given the game back to Globetrotters. The timekeeper tried to stop the clock and couldn't. When the final buzzer sounded, the crowd was dumbfounded and disappointed.[6] Klotz described the fans' reaction: "They looked at us like we killed Santa Claus."[7]

Some children in the stands cried after the loss.[4] The Reds celebrated by dousing themselves with orange soda instead of champagne. Lemon was furious, saying "You lost, I didn't lose," but still visited the opposing team’s locker room to congratulate the Reds.[6]

Reds player Roy Kieval later said Globetrotters owner Abe Saperstein threatened his team over the event.[6] As this was kayfabe basketball, it is uncertain how much, if any, of the upset story was an angle created to promote Globetrotters games. Both teams claimed that all their exhibitions were real, competitive contests.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Official Site of the Harlem Globetrotters: FAQ Page
  2. ^ The Official Site of the Harlem Globetrotters: FAQ Page
  3. ^ The Last Time the Globetrotters Came Up Short, Newsday (New York) February 17, 1991.
  4. ^ a b "Curly Neal says he's an athlete first.", Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR), January 7, 1990.
  5. ^ "Showtime in NBA Can Be Traced to Trotters", Sporting News, March 12, 1990.
  6. ^ a b c "An Upset That Shook The Globe", Hartford Courant (Connecticut), March 19, 2000.
  7. ^ a b Comcast
  8. ^ http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/news/faq.asp#4

External links