Harlem Globetrotters true to their name

The worst trip Hi Rise Brown ever endured went from Dubai to London to New York to Miami to Brazil to Argentina. The journey lasted 37 hours.

"Everyone got their bags except me," Hi Rise said.

Just as the name suggests, a big part of being a Harlem Globetrotter is traveling to all corners of the earth. Hi Rise, a 6-5 forward from the Chicago area, has flown on a Blackhawk helicopter in Iraq and walked on the Great Wall of China.

In their 84 years, the Globetrotters have visited 120 countries. Handles Franklin, a 6-1 guard from Harrisburg, Pa., has been to more than 50 countries in his four years as a Globetrotter.

On Sunday, the Harlem Globetrotters begin their 2011 North American tour in Richmond.

Yes, the Globetrotters travel so much they often forget what city they're in. But Richmond has still left a few indelible memories on the players. Hi Rise remembers the history for which the city is famous. Handles has always enjoyed playing here. Because of its proximity to his home, his family often comes to Richmond to see him play.

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The Globetrotters began in 1926 when a 24-year-old man named Abe Saperstein put together a team of all black players in Chicago. They were called the "Savoy Big Five" because they played in Chicago's Savoy Ballroom.

The next year, they began to travel. They had the name "New York" on their jerseys even though they had no connection to the city. Back then, they played serious games. The Globetrotters got so good that one night they led their opponent 112-5. So they started to clown around on the court.

Many staples of the game, such as the slam dunk, the alley-oop and the three-man weave, originated with the Globetrotters. This year, they've added a new twist — the 4-point shot.

Two designated shooting spots are marked on each half of the court, 35-feet from the basket. That's 12-feet beyond the NBA's 3-point line.

"We continue to try to innovate the game," Handles said. "We've always got something up our sleeve."

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Difficult travel arrangements were a part of being a Globetrotter from the very beginning. Saperstein and his five players — there were no backups — crammed into a Ford Model T. Legend has it, the players were so tall their legs hung out the windows.

"It's amazing to be a part of that tradition," Handles said. If it was that bad for the original team, "it can't get but so bad for us."

Dizzy Grant, a 6-2 guard from Princeton, N.J., remembers flying Air Libya and there being flies on the plane. He also remembers a plane getting struck by lightning somewhere over Asia.

Curly Neal remembers a flight from Rome to London getting delayed by six or seven hours. Their game was supposed to begin at 7:45 p.m. They arrived at the arena around 9:30, but the crowd was still there waiting to see the show.

"We came in with our suitcases so they gave us a standing ovation," Curly said. "We had an almost-perfect game that night."

Curly, who played from 1963-1985, is one of the most famous Globetrotters. He was immortalized in a cartoon and he got to visit four presidents — Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

He also lived in Chesterfield County. He doesn't remember when exactly, but it was for about a year and a half in the mid-to-late '70s. Curly has spent the past 15 years in the public relations department of the Harlem Globetrotters.

"It's been my whole life and I'm just blessed to be a part of such a wonderful organization," he said.

Curly isn't the only Globetrotter with connections to the Richmond area. And not all Globetrotter stories are as happy as Curly's.

Clyde "The Glide" Austin, who attended Maggie Walker, was a three-time All-Metro selection from 1974 to 1976. After graduating high school, he went to N.C. State. After playing briefly with the Philadelphia 76ers, he joined the Globetrotters in 1981, touring with the group until 1990.

In 2004, Austin was sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison for defrauding churches in a Ponzi scheme that cost them $16 million.

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Broken into two units, the Globetrotters play more than 450 games a year. And while the travel might be the most trying part of the job, it's also the most fulfilling.

A few years ago, Hi Rise was playing for the troops in Iraq when he heard a big boom and the floor shook. He thought maybe a speaker had fallen. A member of the military later told him a bomb had gone off, probably about two miles away.

Hi Rise remembers how calm all the soldiers were.

"No big deal," they all said.

For Hi Rise, that was the most meaningful trip he's taken.

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While sitting in a hotel in downtown Richmond, Handles is approached by a group of middle-aged fans. Handles is easily recognizable — he wears a blue and red Globetrotters jumpsuit and carries with him their signature basketball.

They tell him how they used to watch Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon as children and they can't wait for this year's show.

"Everyone has a Harlem Globetrotters story," Handles said. "I'm honored to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys."

In order to be in Richmond for Sunday's games, Handles said he will leave his home at about 6 a.m. today. After the tour begins, he'll play just about every day until April 17. But Handles is OK with being apart from his family on Christmas.

"You're leaving your family to bring other families together," he said.

ekolenich@timesdispatch.com

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