Harlem Wizards

Harlem Wizards
Leagues	Independent
Founded	1962
History	1962-present: Harlem Wizards
Arena	Barnstorming team
Location	Harlem, New York
Team colors	Purple, Black, Gold, and Red
President	Todd Davis
Ownership	Todd Davis
Website	Official website
Uniforms
Home Away

The Harlem Wizards are a basketball team whose history goes back to 1962 when it was created by sports promoter, Howie Davis. Unlike most basketball teams, the Harlem Wizards are not primarily focused on winning matches - 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 comedic act.

Their antics are very similar to those of the Harlem Globetrotters, who were created in 1926.

The Wizards, Globetrotters and Ambassadors are the only show basketball teams left. The theme for the Wizards' 2010-2011 campaign is the "Basketball and Beyond Tour." They hold the longest known winning streak in all of professional sports - over 2,800 games.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Current roster

Harlem Wizards roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G/F 2 Jackson, LaMarvon "Mr. 540" 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) University of Arkansas Little Rock F 000 Simpson, Dwayne "Swoop" 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Southern Connecticut State University F 00 Henderson, Claude "Tojo" 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Passaic High School G 1 Lewis, Arthur "King Arthur" 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Bowie State University F 3 Johnson Jr., Roscoe "Sarge" 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Allegany College of Maryland G 4 Tyndal, James "Road Runner" 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Buffalo State College G 5 Jones, Eric "Broadway" 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Urbana University G 9 Bernard, Arnold "A-Train" 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Southwest Missouri State G 10 Curry, Devon "Livewire" 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Pasco-Hernando CC & Western Texas G 11 Simmel, Mike "Mighty Mike" 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Purchase College G 29 Sewell, Leon "Space Jam" 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Bethel and East Central Universities F 20 Stukes, Timothy TJ "Tomohawk" 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Pittsburg State G 21 Ryan, "Blackjack" 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Brooklyn College G 24 Barner, Rashaan "Rocket" 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) William Paterson University G 28 Williamson, Dexton "Air Jamaica" 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Southern Connecticut State University F 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) Staten Island College F 15 Clinton, Lloyd "Loonatik" 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Allen University, South Carolina C 94 Mathews, Mike "Big Mike M&M" 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Florida State F 10 Erwin, Dewyn "Air Revolution" 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Broward CC G 95 Rodriguez, Ken "Blenda" 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Bergen Community College	Head coach Todd Davis Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Former players

• Ollie Lee Ledbetter
• Connie Hawkins
• Tiny Archibald
• Hawthorne Wingo
• Mario Elie
• Hollis Copeland
• Sam Worthen
• James "Speedy" Williams
• "The Main Event"
• Frankie Bradshaw
• Larry "Butterfly" Cheatham
• Ed "Czar" Simmons
• Frank "Shake & Bake" Streety
• "Headache"
• Guy Hughes
• Clarence "Mugsy" Leggett
• Tom "Sundance Kid" Chapin
• Vincent White
• James "Peanuts" Woolard
• Ralph " Rubber Legs" Sheets

External links

• http://www.harlemwizards.com/ - Harlem Wizards website.