Trerica Roberson
Blue & White Flash / Staff Writer
The Harlem Globetrotters, who gained worldwide recognition for combining basketball playing skills with comedic tricks and stunts, have entertained and wowed audiences for over eight decades. Competing in more than 20,000 games in over 125 countries, the Globetrotters established themselves as the world ambassadors of basketball, becoming a global attraction.
In the 1970’s, Neal Paul Woods, a young man hailing from Jackson, Miss. joined the Globetrotters. A graduate of Lanier High School and Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, which later became Alcorn State University, Woods moved to St. Petersburg Fla. where he worked at the St. Petersburg Hilton Hotel as a waiter.
After learning that the Globetrotters where holding tryouts at the Bravefront Center in St. Petersburg, Woods decided to tryout and made the team.
Woods played for seven years with the team in hundreds of games across the United States and England, proudly wearing the Globetrotters distinctive red, white, and blue striped uniforms.
His nickname, “The Demon” followed him from his playing days at Lanier. The moniker was given because during the time of big afros, Woods always kept his head shaved bald. His aggressive style of play and temper on the court further fueled the moniker.
“The biggest impression on my life and basketball career was when I was in high school during the summers. I would come over to Jackson State (College) and talk and learn from Coach Wilson.”
Coach Harrison B. Wilson worked as a professor, administrator and head basketball coach from 1951 to 1960 at Jackson State College (now Jackson State University).
When asked about his experiences with the Globetrotters Woods said, “My best experience while playing for the Globetrotters was being able to inspire people but mainly the children. My worst experience was when I started playing for the team, which was before integration came into effect. We weren’t allowed to stay in certain hotels or eat in certain restaurants but we could perform in front of an all white crowd.”
Woods offers advice to the youth of today.
“You have to have an education, but you also need to listen and learn from older people, otherwise the youth of today will be in for a world of trouble,” said Woods.
Woods, along with his wife Ann, currently resides in Louin, Miss.
According to harlemglobetrotters.com, the team was the creation of Abe Saperstein of Chicago, who took over coaching duties for a team of African-American players originally known as the Savoy Big Five, named after the famous Chicago ballroom where they played their early games. At a time when only whites were allowed to play on professional basketball teams, Saperstein decided to promote his new team’s racial makeup by naming them after Harlem, the famous African-American neighborhood of New York City. The son of a tailor, Saperstein personally sewed their red, white and blue uniforms emblazoned with the words “New York”.
