Boards
Thread of Interesting Sports Stories
1) The Generals Finally Beat The Harlem Globetrotters
"The [Washington Generals] defeated the Globetrotters 100-99 on January 5, 1971 in Martin, Tennessee. It ended a 2,495-game winning streak – and was Harlem’s only loss between 1962 and 1995. [Owner and coach, Red] Klotz credits the overtime win to a guard named Eddie Mahar, who was team captain. Harlem's captain, Curly Neal, did not play in this game.
While the Globetrotters were entertaining the crowd that day, they lost track of the game and the score. They found themselves down 12 points with two minutes left to go. Forced to play normal basketball, the Globetrotters rallied but could not recover. A player on the opposition likened the boos and jeers they received from the crowd to "landing a knockout punch on Santa Claus."
The Reds secured their victory when Klotz hit the winning basket with seconds left. Then Meadowlark Lemon missed a shot that would have given the game back to Globetrotters. The timekeeper tried to stop the clock and couldn't. When the final buzzer sounded, the crowd was dumbfounded and disappointed. Klotz described the fans' reaction: "They looked at us like we killed Santa Claus."
Some children in the stands cried after the loss. The Reds celebrated by dousing themselves with orange soda instead of champagne. Lemon was furious, saying "You lost, I didn't lose," but still visited the opposing team’s locker room to congratulate the Reds.
Reds player Roy Kieval later said Globetrotters owner Abe Saperstein threatened his team over the event, even though he had died in 1966, five years prior to the event. As this was kayfabe basketball, it is uncertain how much, if any, of the upset story was an angle created to promote Globetrotters games. Both teams claimed that all their exhibitions were real, competitive contests.
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Kids crying in the stands. Win.