Sonny Hill recalls a time when he and his childhood friend, Wilt Chamberlain, would go to the movies to watch newsreels where the Harlem Globetrotters often appeared. Seeing players like Reece “Goose” Tatum and Marques Haynes, two of the franchise’s top showmen during that time, resonated with Chamberlain and sparked an ambition.
The Globetrotters’ mission of breaking down racial barriers and stereotypes grabbed Chamberlain’s attention. But the concept of entertainment was something that stuck with Chamberlain until he died on Oct. 12, 1999.
Chamberlain played 14 seasons in the NBA, but the one season before he became a face of the league, he was a face of the Globetrotters.
“Playing with the Globetrotters was Wilt’s childhood dream,” Hill, a Philadelphia Sports Hall of Famer and current sports radio personality, told The Athletic, “and he was able to fulfill it.”
Chamberlain did not have the lengthy tenure other Globetrotters had. He played the one full season, 1958-59, and sparingly during some NBA offseasons and post-retirement. But Chamberlain didn’t need much time to set a bar for the future of both the Globetrotters and the NBA, becoming a basketball and societal icon who bridged two entities.
“When Wilt and I grew up together, the Globetrotters were the team that we wanted to identify with,” Hill said. “So, upon seeing them, when he got older, he wanted to play for the Globetrotters.”
Read more on Chamberlain’s stint with the Globetrotters here.
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Remembering Wilt Chamberlain’s 1 year with the Globetrotters: A ‘childhood dream’
