“Marty Supreme” taught the nation not to underestimate the Harlem Globetrotters. Timothée Chalamet won’t be ping ponging in the halftime show, but the Globetrotters promise a jaw-dropping show for their 100th anniversary.
Fun fact: the team name started as a fib. Jewish basketball coach and booking agent Abe Saperstein started the team in 1926 in Chicago with a handful of talented Black players to showcase their talents to wider audiences during segregation.
“Harlem” was supposed to indicate the team was Black, and “Globetrotters” was a vast exaggeration, as most games were played in tiny Midwest towns during the Great Depression. In the 1950s, the Globetrotters went on to beat the best team in the all-white NBA and be the first basketball team to sell out Madison Square Garden.
After incorporating comedy and vaudeville showmanship into its act, the team has since lived up to the latter part of its name and become a global phenomenon.
The Harlem Globetrotters 100 Year Tour
Time Sun., Jan. 11, 3 p.m.
Location Yuengling Center, 4202 East Fowler Ave, Tampa
This article appears in Jan. 01 – 07, 2026.