How Harlem Globetrotters founder Abe Saperstein shaped basketball as we know it today

A new biography highlights Jewish sports pioneer Abe Saperstein, founder of the Harlem Globetrotters, and his influence on basketball's global rise, including introducing the three-point shot.

American exhibition basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters with their manager Abe Saperstein (1902 - 1966) during a match against the Boston Whirlwinds at the Empire Pool in Wembley, London, UK, May 1951.

(photo credit: George Konig/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

ByJACOB GURVIS/JTA

OCTOBER 3, 2024 19:29

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