The high-energy and theatrical Harlem Globetrotters basketball team has been entertaining people since 1929, and over the years, they’ve employed dozens of big-name celebrities and sports stars as actual and honorary members. Here are five of the team’s most surprising alumni.
1. BILL COSBY
Cosby began his affiliation with the Globetrotters in December 1972, when he appeared in the debut episode of The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine, a short-lived variety show that aired on CBS. The team made the most of his appearance by signing the Emmy Award-winning funnyman to a lifetime contract—at $1 per year. (Cosby’s rate was later increased to $1.05 in 1986 “to account for inflation.”)
2. WILT CHAMBERLAIN
It might not seem like such a stretch that the 7′1″ NBA legend Chamberlain was once a Globetrotter, but he did it before becoming one of the world’s most famous centers. A two-time All-American at the University of Kansas, “Wilt the Stilt” signed a one-year contract with the Globetrotters in 1958 (they paid him $50,000, a huge amount at the time) so he could play professional basketball—NBA rules prevented underclassmen from entering the league, but the Globetrotters were out of its jurisdiction. It proved to be money well spent because his signing generated headlines all across America and brought the team more fans (and ticket sales). Chamberlain joined the NBA the following year, but he never forgot his time with the Globetrotters, often calling it the most enjoyable part of his career. Chamberlain died in 1999, but was posthumously honored by the team in 2000, when the Globetrotters retired his jersey.
3. POPE JOHN PAUL II
The Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II, became an honorary Globetrotter on November 29, 2000, in a star-studded ceremony in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Members of the team commemorated the historic event by presenting His Holiness with an autographed basketball and a #75 jersey in honor of the team’s 75th anniversary. It wasn’t the first time the Globetrotters were granted an audience with a pope. The team also met Pope Pius XII in 1951 and 1952, Pope John XXIII in 1959 and 1963, and Pope Paul VI in 1968.
Staten Island residents voted to secede from NYC in 1993, but they couldn’t get state approval.
A 12-time NBA All-Star and a three-time NBA MVP, Earvin “Magic” Johnson first suited up for the Globetrotters in April 1997, during a college all-stars game. Johnson enjoyed the experience so much that he played for the team again in November 2003 in a game against his alma mater, Michigan State. Johnson tallied five points and four assists during the first 16 minutes of the 97–83 victory, helping the Globetrotters avenge a loss to the Spartans in 2000 that had ended the team’s 1,270-game winning streak (which had begun in 1995). Johnson is currently signed to a $1-a-year lifetime contract with the team and has a standing invitation to return at any time.
5. BOB GIBSON
Although best known as an outstanding baseball player, Bob “Gibby” Gibson—then a talented athlete at Nebraska’s Creighton University—helped a team of college all-stars defeat the Globetrotters in April 1957 in the World Series of Basketball, an annual three-week tournament. His performance was so impressive that the Globetrotter’s owner, Abe Saperstein, signed Gibson to a one-year contract for the 1957–58 season…thereby delaying the start of his Major League Baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals. Gibson enjoyed the experience so much that he might have continued to play with the Globe trotters the next year if the Cardinals hadn’t offered him a $3,700 bonus to join the team. Gibson went on to appear in nine All-Star games and capture two World Series titles over his 17-year Hall of Fame career.
First rookie NFL quarterback to throw two 2-point conversions in one game: Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets, in 2009
In 1859 French acrobat Charles “the Great” Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow.