Welcome to Billy's Harlem Globetrotters' Site

The Harlem Globetrotters have been entertaining basketball fans and the general public for over 80 years, by combining good ball playing, comedy, and audience participation. They have been honored by receiving a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and one of the few teams inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

I saw them live for the first time in 1972 at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria LA. Unfortunately I do not remember too much of the evening. Since that time I have become a basketball fan (baseball is still #1, though) and wanted to see them again. As they were going to be in the New York area in February 2007 I decided to go.

Their stint at the Nassau Coliseum, home of the NHL's New York Islanders, was on February 18, 2007. I arrived early and got to watch some of the players share their secrets of how they do it. With lots of practice, it looks easy. Audience participants realized that it's a lot harder that it looks. When "Globetrotter University" was over the mascot Globie came out to the court, then the afternoon's opponents, the New York Nationals, and finally the Globetrotters themselves.

As usual, the Globetrotters won, this time by about 20 points. But even if they did not win, we all had a good time and I got my program autographed by one of the team members.

Hopefully I will see them live again, but way before 2042.

On May 10, 2008 the Harlem Globetrotters participated in Amtrak's National Train Day at New York's Penn Station. A makeshift basketball half court was set up near the Amtrak ticket offices, and 5 members of the team strutted their stuff. Since we were in Penn Station on our way to a Broadway show, I got to see them live for a little while. However, I still hoped to see a full game in an arena again, perhaps late in 2009 or in 2010.

PS: It was May 10, 1869 that the Transcontinental Railroad was finished.