The Harlem Globetrotters are among the most recognizable basketball teams in the world. Founded in 1926, they put on a dazzling show complete with astounding trick shots and spinning balls on fingers.
The sport wasn’t known in the world at that time, and they played in some unexpected places: the desert in Djibouti, Africa, the Persian Gulf, the Philippine jungles, a beach in the Bahamas, and a bullring in Spain.
Their travels helped transform basketball from an unknown American sport to an international sensation. But unlike most other sports fans, the Trotters’ supporters knew the outcome of each game from the jump. That’s where the Washington Generals come in.
Founded in 1952 by Red Klotz, the team’s sole purpose was getting beat, week after week, by the Trotters. Red dedicated his life to the Generals as a player and coach, so much so that his daughter, Jody, met her husband, John Ferrari, on the teams’ world tour.
At StoryCorps, Jody and John remember Red Klotz life and legacy, and the one time the Generals actually won.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired August 9, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.