The typically unbeatable Harlem Globetrotters are known for winning every game against their longtime rivals (and the only team they regularly play), the Washington Generals. Often committing the basketball equivalent of war crimes against Generals’ players (pulling their pants down, etc.), the despicable Trotters have beaten these lovable underdogs somewhere in the ballpark of 27,000 times.
However, there have been a handful of times the Generals have slayed these basketball supervillains and proved that hope still exists in this roller coaster of despair we all call life.
One particularly notable win was in 1971 in a game held at the University of Tennessee, Martin.
Most of the account of this game comes from The Legend of Red Klotz: How Basketball’s Loss Leader Won Over the World 14,000 Times (Kelly, 2013), a comprehensive look at the Generals’ owner and “star” player.
During this era, the persevering Generals would swap jerseys every night to give the illusion that the Globetrotters were bullying different teams. So while this win was technically by the New Jersey Reds, it has been confirmed it was the same Washington Generals we all know and love unconditionally.
It was normal for the Generals (or the Reds) to play to the best of their ability every night (in my opinion, because they are the people’s champions). If the Generals pulled ahead, the vile Globetrotters would halt their usual schtick and go on fast breaks that would allow them to make up the point deficit. While the games weren’t technically fixed, everything on the court would fall into a loose script nearly every night. The Generals would lose any lead they created, often in dramatic fashion, while still also managing to get confused when a Globetrotter, say, puts the ball in his jersey.
But on that night in 1971, no one was paying close enough attention to the score.
“It has become an afterthought,” says Klotz.
He goes on to say that the Globetrotters were getting painfully unlucky, and their showy shots were all missing that night, while the Generals were just yeeting garbage shots that somehow couldn’t miss. I wasn’t there, but I can only assume every single person in the sold-out 3,000-seat arena must have been on their feet chanting for the heroic Generals, just like how the Israelites must have cheered as David slayed Goliath.
Klotz says that with two minutes left in the game, the Globetrotters realized what was happening and played as hard as they could to catch back up and secure the win. They were able to quickly take the lead back, making the score 99-98 with ten seconds left. That’s when Klotz decided that if the Globetrotters wanted this win, they’d have to beat him straight up. He called a timeout, and when time resumed he sunk a nice jumper to take the lead back.
With three seconds left, the Globetrotters rushed down the court – reportedly the Generals gave them all the space they could need, knowing this was their show in the long run – but, with all the pressure mounting, Trotters star Meadowlark Lemon missed the final shot.
Klotz’s book and nearly every other source on this game that I could find claims that kids throughout the arena started crying. I can only assume it was tears of joy, knowing that tyrants can be toppled.