Globetrotters may have a New York name, but they actually started.

>> In Chicago, the players along with founder, ASAP or Steam disrupted the game of basketball and gave it a whole new look.

A new book Globetrotter how pristine shook up the world of sports reveals the history and legacy of this storied team.

Joining us is Mark Jacob Co author of the new book who is former metro editor of the Chicago Tribune.

Mark, Welcome.

Thank you for joining us this revenue.

you wrote this book along with your brother.

What inspired you both to do this?

Well, we both love sports in the history of sports and we.

>> Both are fascinated by the history of of racism in America.

And, you know, this thing.

>> His subject had both of those.

And plus really inspirational story about.

Person and a team that came out of nowhere and really made impact.

So we'd love As we know the Harlem Globetrotters, not from Harlem, right Chicago.

Why did aides after seeing choose that name?

>> Well, all right.

So apes Christine, this is 5 foot, 3 inch.

She was sky from the north side and he's working in the park district in Chicago and he runs into these black athletes town to black athletes on the South side.

They form a team and they start traveling.

And obviously this is the thank U 20's.

So we're you know, a few years after the 1919, race right in Chicago sentiment.

So so tensions were, you know, higher and misunderstanding was high.

And so he's he's taking this team in a model T Ford that they bought from a funeral parlor.

It would draped on the side so they could have a little privacy.

So they're touring these Midwest towns, almost all white towns and, you know, in the Midwest and Wisconsin and Michigan, Illinois, in.

He wanted to signal to the folks that, hey, I'm bringing these black athletes in the town.

It's going to be fine.

And I think so I that was why he said Harlem is a signal for black indicated that these that these folks are black.

>> Some say that, you know, he found these players, but others say that they already had a black coach before meeting a south pristine, but they were performing poorly.

What was his role for those players and for the team?

>> Well, you know, he really did probably start out as a booking agent where he was these black athletes on the Southside including a teen called the several a Big 5, which was at the way ballroom on the South side.

>> They wanted to do barnstorming tours to make money and they needed.

They needed what they call a white face to 2 to negotiate everything for them and inception was that ever seen was kindness.

20's who love sports and was just a gregarious guy who could get people to be engaged with them in.

So they hired him to do that and eventually he became the coach of the team and took them around and he invented the Harlem Globetrotters as their brand.

>> The first chapter called the disrupter and it centers around that 1948.

Basketball game of the globe, charters versus the Minneapolis Lakers right before they became the LA Lakers.

And now that I know that used to be in Minneapolis in make so much more said but why was that game significant?

Well, >> this is at a time what needs to be understood in we didn't We did a research fully understand that back in those days, a lot of white people thought that black people were good enough to compete in sports that the specially team sports, a black players might be OK, but they're not really very good team sports or the choke in the clutch.

Their all these bizarre myths that today's world seemed liked mind-blowingly stupid.

But but that was with the way it was in sand.

So.

H the Globetrotters is playing against the Minneapolis Lakers who everyone thought was the best team in America and really in the world because America was where basketball was invented.

They have an incredible game with a full house Chicago Stadium in 1948. in the glow pros one and a last second shot.

And it was this glorious moment that we recount in the book and in many ways it was significant for whole history of the NBA.

Because 2 years later, the NBA desegregate and start admitting black players in many people thought that 1948 game was such a.

Was with influential that White America could except black players in the NBA and everyone knew it was no way to keep them out anymore.

He was up.

It was proof that black players could compete.

>> At what point did they start to add sort of the comedy and the tricks in Washington Jeno's.

This is a thing that there are a lot of stories about that.

In fact, kind told stories about, well, you know, we got bored one night and we had to get the fans interested.

>> The truth is, according to our research, they always were a comic team.

They always had they were trying to win the games, but they also were trying to, you know, be entertaining.

And the thing about it is they were playing often.

They're going to these towns and playing factory teams or you or just college teams.

They there beating in pretty bad.

>> And they used the comedy to keep the crowds interested.

>> And also so that they didn't humiliate the team so badly that they didn't want to back the next year because they did They wanted change everyone to go away happy and they want him back the next year.

>> The Globetrotters, they were also, you know, back in the day useful to the State Department.

Yes, the U.S. State Department tell us a little bit about this is where our book breaks ground on this because after the war Cold War is is going on in the Soviet, sir.

>> Really seizing on Jim Crow South, horrible things.

In fact, we have we have there's a memo in which bin says tells us State Department the Little rock desegregation crisis is killing us over here.

You got to bring the Globetrotters over here to show successful, talented black people who are not oppressed.

And so a seen in the Globetrotters work for the State Department in many way secretly 2 used the Globetrotters as a propaganda weapon during the Cold War.

Did the men to the basketball players themselves ever feel any conflict about doing that?

About slick selling America is this great place.

But at at home knowing that them and their people are receiving the end of Jim Crow.

Well, there there's a lot of tension in the book about that, you know, and >> they knew that they were trying to make a living, you know, to some extent.

And so and they also were treated better.

They there's quotes in the book about them being treated better in Europe when they went over than they were treated in their own country.

so they knew what was going on.

And but the same time they were they were because they were stars, least demand Europe and they were and they were highly successful and you know, the thing about apes after seeing the sea is he gave a lot of jobs.

The backpack, athletes at a time when people, you know, we're struggling to get by.

>> Almost out of time, Mark.

But you and your brother dedicated the book to Inman Jackson, who was he?

And what was the role that he played for them in about 30 seconds?

Yes, Inman Jackson was a perception is best friend and was an early start of the globe.

Tryst, in fact, invented many of their tricks.

And this and like a perception.

He's really underappreciated.

And we dedicated the book because we wanted people.

We have more in the book about him and Jackson he's ever been put in about before.

And we're proud of that, OK, IM in Jackson.

We want to tell people about the whole book.

They got to read it.

If they wanted more.

Mark Jacob, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.