TATUM, Reece ("Goose")

(b. 3 May 1921 in Calion, Arkansas; d. 18 January 1967 in El Paso, Texas), professional basketball and baseball player, and sports showman who played for the Harlem Globetrotters during the 1940s and 1950s, creating several of the stunts and routines associated with that basketball team.

A gifted athlete who grew up in El Dorado, Arkansas, Tatum used his massive hands and eighty-four-inch arm span to handle and pass basketballs with incredible finesse. He became the key architect of several of the Harlem Globetrotters' memorable routines after joining the team in 1942. The Globetrotters began their transformation toward combining entertainment and basketball three years before Tatum joined the squad when team members began experimenting with tricks and playful antics during games they were winning handily.

Wildly enthusiastic reactions from crowds led owner and founder Abe Saperstein to encourage his players to continue weaving their entertaining legerdemain within the traditional game. Globetrotter Inman Jackson initiated the original "Clown Prince" of basketball role. The "Floorman," usually an individual both nimble and artistic in respect to dribbling, worked directly with the "Prince" while the "Cornerman" often boosted both positions.

Tatum began his apprenticeship (focusing on the role of Clown Prince) in 1942. Only a brief period of service in the military with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II interrupted his early career. A quick study, Tatum became the new Clown Prince in the mid-1940s and developed several new routines. He refined his craft by attending circuses and studying clowns, which provided him with inspiration for on-court antics using referees and the crowd as foils. Tatum constantly practiced tricks like spinning a basketball on one finger, passing the ball behind his back, and effortlessly rolling basketballs on his arms. One of his favorite maneuvers involved manipulating a basketball fastened to the end of a huge rubber band, a trick that made opposing players and referees look foolish as they attempted to grab the ball. Once a game Tatum tossed shredded paper from a water bucket into the audience. From his position at the top of the key, he guided the Trotters' attack while performing a humorous nonstop monologue punctuated by animated facial expressions. Tatum was also able to score at will against most competition, relying on his patented hook shot. Some basketball historians credit Tatum with developing the "sky hook."

Tatum's service with the team coincided with an era of Globetrotter pride when the squad proved their basketball skills were outstanding even against the toughest competition in the world. In 1939 the Globetrotters achieved a berth in the World's Professional Basketball Championship, an invitational tournament sponsored by the Chicago Herald-American. They lost to another all–African-American team, the New York Rens, in the final game, but they returned the following year and won the 1940 championship. Their competitive reputation was further enhanced when they won the International Cup Tournament in Mexico City in 1943. Worldwide acclaim followed. Life magazine featured the team prominently in the 2 December 1946 issue.

The Globetrotters, starring Tatum, continued their dominance over all competition when they beat the Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 and 1949. At the time the Lakers were considered world champions of the very segregated Basketball Association of America (BAA), a league that became the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949. The victories left no doubt that the Globetrotters were talented basketball players in addition to courtside showmen. The Lakers had a roster of stars, including forward Jim Pollard and center George Mikan, arguably the most famous basketball player of his era. Tatum and a team that included Globetrotter legend Marques Haynes defeated the world champion Lakers 61–59 before a crowd of 17,823 fans at Chicago Stadium on 19 February 1948.

A highly anticipated rematch occurred on 28 February 1949. Again, the Globetrotters won the contest (49–45) despite a tremendous height disadvantage. The Lakers had several players taller than Tatum, who guarded six-foot, ten-inch Mikan. Tatum and the Globetrotters basked in the applause of a crowd of over 20,000 at Chicago Stadium after proving they were the best basketball team in the world again. The team also competed in the World Series of Basketball (1950–1958 and 1961–1962) during this era. Tatum was named co-Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1951 and MVP of the tournament in 1952.

Tatum's close association with the audience became even more intimate when theme music and new marketing techniques announced the presence of the Globetrotters in the 1950s. By then an entertainment conglomerate with an international reputation, the team entered arenas donned in garish uniforms. After their entrance, Tatum and his fellow players formed a circle at center court and tossed the basketball around as speakers blared artist Brother Bones singing "Sweet Georgia Brown." In 1950 and 1951 the team began to live up to its name, touring Europe, North Africa, and South America.

A multidimensional athlete, Tatum was a star baseball player for the Birmingham Black Barons before signing a basketball contract with the Globetrotters. He continued his participation in baseball intermittently throughout his career. Playing first base for the Indianapolis Clowns, Tatum proved that baseball fans appreciated entertaining antics as well. In 1952 the Clowns won the Negro American League championship with a young cross-handed slugger from Alabama named Hank Aaron.

Tatum's participation in Negro League baseball paralleled his professional basketball career. Segregation in both sports was pervasive during most of his playing days, and the Globetrotters were often the only professional avenue available for African-American basketball players.

In 1959 Tatum purchased the Detroit Stars and changed their name to the Detroit Clowns. He continued to play first base for his new acquisition. The Clowns were only one of Tatum's ventures. He formed his own basketball team, the Harlem Road Kings, after retiring from the Globetrotters in 1954. Known for their crowd-pleasing entertainment, the Road Kings traveled to Asia and Europe in addition to venues across North America. Tatum managed the team until his death, and he is buried in Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso.

Stew Thornley, Basketball ' s Original Dynasty: The History of the Lakers (1989), provides rich detail about the rivalry between the Globetrotters and the Lakers. Rob Ruck, Sandlot Seasons: Baseball in Pittsburgh (1993), describes Negro League baseball during the era that Tatum and contemporaries like Aaron played. Robert W. Peterson, Only the Ball Was White (1999), delivers excellent background material about the era in which Tatum played. James A. Riley's reference volume, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues (1994), offers data about Tatum's Indianapolis ball club. An obituary is in the New York Times (Jan. 1967).

R. Jake Sudderth