Excerpt © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Excerpt from the Introduction Sports editor Alan Ward of the Oakland Tribune wrote in 1949: "When the history of American sports is compiled, the name of Abe Saperstein should be written in large, bold letters into the document." But that hasn't happened. Saperstein is far less famous today than he deserves to be. If Saperstein is remembered, it is for founding the Black basketball team known as the Harlem Globetrotters, but not for much more. Yet Saperstein wasn't just a major force in the popularization of Black basketball--he was a major force in the popularization of basketball, period, at a time when it struggled in the United States and was virtually unknown in some parts of the world. He pioneered the three-point shot, which has dramatically changed the character and style of the game.

And Saperstein's impact went well beyond basketball. His promotional savvy helped keep baseball's Negro Leagues alive, and he was an early force knocking down the color barrier in the major leagues. He's the reason one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Satchel Paige, finally got his shot at the majors. And Saperstein was a great promoter of international sports. When Olympic star Jesse Owens fell on hard times, Saperstein was among the few who stepped forward to befriend him. Beyond sports, Saperstein and the Trotters were international symbols of Americanism during the Cold War. To the US State Department, they were key instruments of diplomacy at a time when the Soviet bloc was pointing to the US civil rights struggle as a sign of America's moral hypocrisy. And along with the achievements in foreign affairs and sports, Saperstein and his comic basketball team gave the world a gift that was both immeasurable and immense: they made millions of people laugh.

Yet this is the first full book about Saperstein, a Jew born in a London slum who emigrated as a child and built a most remarkable American life. Why no biography before this? Well, his legacy is complicated. Although he empowered many Black people, he also promoted the racial stereotypes of his day. And though the clownishness of the Globetrotters was viewed by some as delightful, it was seen by others as demeaning. Until the 1940s, the team's nickname, Globetrotters, was two words: Globe Trotters. To avoid distracting the reader, we have used the modern version in most references. In all other matters, we have tried to tell the truth as accurately as possible. That's a challenge because Saperstein sometimes invented and embellished details of his own life.

This human dynamo who helped shape American sports didn't make it easy for biographers, but he sure made it interesting.