Abe Saperstein, the founder of the world famous barnstorming basketball team The Harlem Globetrotters, discovered one of his biggest stars in a very unlikely place — a baseball field.
Goose Tatum was playing for Birmingham Black Barons, a professional baseball team in the Negro League. Saperstein thought the athletic fielder’s 6-foot-plus frame and 6-foot-plus arm span would translate perfectly on the basketball court. Goose was signed to a contact with the Globetrotters and spent the next eleven years as the original “Clown Prince of Basketball.”
Goose loved to make people laugh and a lot of the “shtick” he invented still shows up during Harlem Globetrotters’ exhibitions today. Goose is also credited with inventing and perfecting the hook shot, still used in professional basketball. At the top of his game, in 1955, Goose was making a reported $55,000 per year — an unheard-of salary at the time.
His fame went to his head, however, and Saperstein released Goose from his contract for missing too many games and violation of team rules. Unfettered, Goose, along with Globetrotters’ teammate Marques Haynes formed a rival basketball club called The Harlem Magicians. Saperstein eventually sued Goose for trademark violation, a case that was settled out of court.
Goose fell into a state of depression after the 1966 death of his son in a car accident. He began drinking heavily and his health began to decline. He passed away in January 1967 at the age of 45.