Harlem Wizards

The Harlem Wizards is a professional basketball team created in 1962 by sports promoter Howie Davis. Unlike most basketball teams, the Harlem Wizards are not primarily focused on winning games. Instead, their aim is to entertain the crowd using a variety of basketball tricks and alley oops. They perform fundraisers at local schools for the students and the rest of the community, displaying their fancy trickery through dribbling, passing, shooting, and dunking. Through these fundraisers, they have raised millions of dollars for "charitable organizations, schools, and foundations across the world." The audience is not only there to watch the Wizards, but also to participate in the show. The Wizards get the crowd involved, often bringing children out onto the floor to be part of a basketball trick or a comedy act.[1]

Harlem Wizards
LeaguesIndependent
Founded1962
History1962–present
Harlem Wizards
ArenaWorldwide
LocationMoonachie, NJ
Team colorsPurple, Red, Gold      
PresidentTodd Davis
OwnershipTodd Davis
Websitewww.harlemwizards.com
Primary
Men's Mental Health
Breast Cancer Awareness

The Wizards are a comedy basketball team that tour the country.[2] The theme for the Wizards' 2010–2011 campaign was the "Basketball and Beyond Tour."[1] They hold the second longest known winning streak in all of professional sports—over 5,000 games[2] after the Harlem Globetrotters 24-year, 8,829 game streak[3]

History

According to harlemwizards.com, in 1943, Harlem Wizards creator Howie Davis was working as a Sports Promoter and the Sergeant and Recreation Director at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The World Championship of Basketball Tournament in Chicago asked Davis to provide an emergency 8th team to compete in the tournament. Within one week, Davis assembled the Dayton Dive Bombers. The Dive Bombers' first round opponent in the tournament was the previous World Champion, the Harlem Globetrotters. The Dive Bombers pulled the upset and the Globetrotters' manager, Abe Saperstein, refused to even shake Davis' hand after the game. Davis was intrigued by this event, and twenty years later, he decided to create his own show basketball team, the Harlem Wizards.[2]

Before Davis got into sports management and promotion, Howie Davis played semi-professional baseball for a couple years. He eventually managed the Brooklyn Dodgers football team, the Staten Island Stapes, and the Kokomo Clowns, who actually played in clown outfits. Before creating the Harlem Wizards, he was also a scout for the San Francisco Giants.[4]

In 1962, Davis created the Wizards, wanting to expand on Saperstein's idea of the Globetrotters. Davis wanted the Wizards to be an even more competitive, creative, and entertaining team than the Globetrotters.[2]

When Howie Davis died in 1992, his son, Todd Davis, took over as the President of the Harlem Wizards organization.[5]

Since 1962, the Wizards have played over 10,000 games, both in the United States and abroad. They have played on five different continents and in 22 different countries.[6]

Current roster

[7]

Roster listing
Harlem Wizards roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 000 Simpson, Dwayne "Swoop" (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Southern Connecticut State University
F 0 Barrera, Jason "Wavey" 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) College of Mount Saint Vincent
G 1 Lewis, Arthur "King Arthur" 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Bowie State University
F 2 Jackson, Lamarvin "Showtime" (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) University of Arkansas at Little Rock
G 3 Bosque, Jimmy "Live Action" 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Borough of Manhattan Community College
G 4 Tyndal, James "Road Runner" 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Buffalo State College
G 5 Jones, Eric "Broadway" (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Urbana University
G 6 Hernandez, Roman "La Fiesta" 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Montclair State University
F 7 Warrick, Gerald "Skywalker" 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Point Park University
G 8 Curry, Devon "Livewire" 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Pasco-Hernando CC & Western Texas College
G 9 Bernard, Arnold "A-Train" 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Southwest Missouri State
C 10 Massey, Patric "The Artist" 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Columbia College
G 12 Bunce-Grenon, Joseph "Jet" 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Regis College
F 13 Young, Rob "Smooth" 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Bloomfield College
F 15 Clinton, Lloyd "Loonatik" 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Allen University
C 20 Stukes, TJ "Tomahawk" 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Pittsburg State University
G 21 Ryan, Jack "Blackjack" 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Brooklyn College
F 22 Lacue, Brandon "Werm" 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Howard College
F 23 Sewell, Leon "Space Jam" 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Bethel College
G 24 Barner, Rashaan "Rocket" (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) William Paterson University
F 25 Southerland, Jordan "Ice" 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) NA
F 26 Hoose, Jordan "Hang-Time" 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Morrisville State College
F 30 Johnson Jr., Roscoe "Sarge" 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Allegany College of Maryland
C 31 Smith, John "Big J" 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) College of Staten Island
G 33 Paul, David "D.P." 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) College of Staten Island
F 50 Holloway, Courtland "Astro" 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Tohono Oʼodham Community College
Head coach
  • Swoop
  • Broadway
  • Showtime
  • Rocket
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Former players[2]
  • Tiny Archibald
  • Frankie Bradshaw
  • Tom "Sundance Kid" Chapin
  • Larry "Butterfly" Cheatham
  • Hollis Copeland
  • Mario Elie
  • Dewyn "Air Revolution" Erwin
  • Connie Hawkins
  • Guy Hughes
  • Ollie Lee Ledbetter
  • Clarence "Mugsy" Leggett
  • Ken "Blenda" Rodriguez
  • Ralph " Rubber Legs" Sheets
  • Mike "Mighty Mike" Simmel
  • Ed "Czar" Simmons
  • Frank "Shake & Bake" Streety
  • Vincent White
  • James "Speedy" Williams
  • Hawthorne Wingo
  • James "Peanuts" Woolard
  • Sam Worthen
  • "Headache"
  • "The Main Event"
  • Earl “Early” Christy
  • Lawrence "LaLa" Gable
  • Buffy "Mr.Magic" Coleman
  • Javon "Dynamite" Jones
  • Claude "Tojo" Henderson
  • Luis Da Silva "Trikz"

References
  1. "About the Harlem Wizards". 2005-2010 Harlem Wizards. 2010. Retrieved Dec 11, 2010.
  2. "Harlem Wizards History". 2005-2010 Harlem Wizards. 2010. Retrieved Dec 11, 2010.
  3. "Globetrotters' Winning Streak Halted At 24 (years)". 1995. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved Feb 13, 2018.
  4. "About Howie Davis". 2005-2010 Harlem Wizards. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved Dec 10, 2010.
  5. "About Todd Davis". 2005-2010 Harlem Wizards. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved Dec 11, 2010.
  6. "The Harlem Wizards". 2007-2010 Wellsville Elementary School. Dec 11, 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved Dec 11, 2010.
  7. "The Harlem Wizards: Team 2017". 2005-2010 Harlem Wizards. 2010. Retrieved Dec 10, 2010. }}
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