First in 27 years

The report that the Harlem Globetrotters’ previous visit to Manila was in 1991 is inaccurate.

After going through piles of old sports files dating back to the 1970s, I came across a story about the Trotters trip here in 1982. That was the team’s third visit after 1952 and 1964 and last before the Globies turned up again this year – which means this was Harlem’s fourth overall trip to Manila and first in 27 years.

In 1982, the Trotters’ showman was “Sweet” Lou Dunbar who was a gangling 28-year-old player out of the University of Houston. Today, Dunbar is a Harlem coach, now 56, easily 50 pounds over what he weighed nearly 30 years ago.

This season, the Trotters signed up 30 players to rotate on two teams touring the US and the rest of the world. Of the 30 players, two are designated “showmen” whose role is to joke around, manage the comic act, score baskets if necessary and keep the crowd in stitches. They’re wired with a microphone so talking to the audience is no problem.

Nat (Big Easy) Lofton was the Harlem showman in the three-game series that ended at the Araneta Coliseum last night. The other showman in this season’s roster is Special K Daley.

The Trotters made their Manila debut in 1952 during the team’s first round-the-world tour to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

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Chuck Menville, in his book “Harlem Globetrotters: 50 Years of Fun and Games,” wrote about the trip: “The Philippines was the one place along their route where basketball was not only known, it was the No. 1 national sport. There were over 400 teams playing year round and each had its dedicated band of followers. Thus when the Globies’ 10-day visit to Manila coincided with the world premier there of their new film ‘Go Man Go’ (the team’s second full-feature movie starring Dane Clark and Sidney Poitier), the result was that Manila became Trotter Town for the duration. There were lines of ticket buyers at theater and arena box offices alike, all wanting to see the fabled Magicians of Basketball in action, be it on film or live.”

Menville continued:

“It was during that same Manila visit that another one of those it-could-only-happen-to-the-Trotters incidents occurred. The team was eagerly looking forward to a rare day off when along came a millionaire Filipino plantation owner who made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Their open date found them being flown, all expenses paid, to the millionaire’s island where he employed 90,000 workers on his eight sugar plantations. In the midst of the jungle, he had hacked out a clearing and constructed a beautiful mahogany playing floor with bleachers seating 12,000 employees – all just for this one game. Needless to say, the Globies gave them their money’s worth.”

New York Times writer George Vecsey identified the Filipino millionaire as J. Amado Araneta who reportedly offered the Globies the sum of $5,000 with all expenses paid to play in Bacolod City.

Vecsey wrote, “Araneta sold 12,000 tickets at $4 to $10 each. The gate was $30,000, the largest of the entire world trip. The Trotters made their $5,000, the expenses were paid off and Araneta gave all the profit to build a new church in the middle of his island jungle.”

Vecsey said the Trotters picked an all-world selection that year and the international first team was made up of Filipino Pons Saldana, Argentina’s Tom Furlong, Mexico’s Jose Santos, France’s Marc Quibbler and China’s Wang Ni Cheun.

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In 1964, the Trotters returned to Manila on their third world-wide tour with stops in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

In 1982, the Globies played three games against the California Chiefs at the Araneta Coliseum. The cast included Dunbar, Clyde (The Glide) Austin, Kendall (Tiny) Pinder, Gary Hooker, Jimmy Blacklock, Osborne Lockhart, Ovie Dotson and Gary Hooker.

Dunbar was the Philadelphia 76ers fourth round draft pick in 1975. His father was a Louisiana deputy sheriff and a college teammate was NBA guard Otis Birdsong. In 1972-73, “Sweet” Lou averaged 21.1 points to lead the Houston varsity to a 23-4 record. The next season, he hit at a 21.7 clip. As a senior in 1974-75, Dunbar ranked 17th in NCAA scoring with a 24.3 norm. He had a stint as an import in the Swiss league before joining the Globies.

Dunbar formed his own comedy hardcourt team called Basketball Magic when the Globies were mismanaged by new owners and their popularity waned. During a forgettable period of the Trotters history in the 1970s and ’80s, other former Globies organized their own versions like the Harlem Wizards, Harlem Magicians, Shooting Stars, Meadowlark Lemon’s Basketeers, Harlem Clowns and Harlem Ambassadors.