Harlem Globetrotters vs Honolulu Hawaiians (1945)

This broadside advertises a barnstorming game between the Harlem Globetrotters baseball team and the Honolulu Hawaiians. The game was played at Parker Field in Yakima, Washington on July 13, 1946.

This broadside was obtained by the Center for Negro League Baseball Research from the estate of the late Ed Hamman. During his career, Hamman was a player, owner and performer in Negro League baseball. Hamman is best remembered as an entertainer and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball clown in baseball history.



The Harlem Globetrotters baseball team like the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team was owned and operated by Abe Saperstein. The Harlem Globetrotters baseball team was formed in 1946 when the Negro Pacific Coast League folded during the start of its first season of operation. Saperstein owned the Seattle Steelheads franchise and when the league folded, according to an interview with former player Herb Simpson, “we got new uniforms and went on the road as the Globetrotters.” The Globetrotters team included many former Negro League players such as Satchel Paige, Paul Hardy, Herb Simpson, Joe Spencer, Ulysses Redd, Nap Gulley, Sherwood Brewer, Jesse Williams, Riley Stewart, Sam Wheeler and Rogers Pierre. Paul Hardy whose picture is on this poster served as the player-manager for the 1946-1947 teams. The Harlem Globetrotters baseball team barnstormed all over the United States from 1946 until the mid-1950’s.

Sherwood Brewer - Harlem Globetrotters (1946-1947)

Not much is known about the Honolulu Hawaiians. Saperstein discovered them when his team the Cincinnati Crescents went to Hawaii earlier in the 1946 season for a barnstorming tour. During this tour, the Crescents posted a record of 15-1. To Saperstein, the Honolulu team, which was predominately players with an oriental heritage, was a good marketing opponent for his Harlem Globetrotters.