Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports

*Booklist starred review*The captivating biography of Abe Saperstein, creator of the Harlem GlobetrottersThe original Harlem Globetrotters weren’t from Harlem, and they didn’t start out as globetrotters.The talented all-Black team, started by Jewish immigrant Abe Saperstein, was from Chicago’s South Side and initially toured the Midwest in Saperstein’s model-T.But with Saperstein’s savvy and the players’ skills, the Globetrotters became a worldwide sensation. Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports is the fascinating biography of Saperstein, a five-foot-three promoter who made an amazing impact in a sport where height is at a premium: basketball.After Saperstein founded the team in the 1920s, the players battled everything from blizzards to bigotry, steadily building a reputation for talent and comedy until their footprint covered the entire world. Abe Saperstein’s impact went well beyond the Harlem Globetrotters.He helped keep baseball’s Negro Leagues alive, was