This day in Los Angeles Dodgers history saw the Harlem Globetrotters play a basketball game at Dodger Stadium. The exhibition contest took place on February 2, 1964.
A makeshift hardwood court was laid down across the shallow part of the infield and stretched across both the first- and third-base foul lines. To this day it remains the only basketball game ever played in Dodger Stadium’s history.
The Globetrotters defeated the Atlantic City Seagulls in front of 12,405 fans.
Before the famous Globetrotters took the court, members of the 1963 World Series champion Dodgers team played an exhibition basketball game against Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears.
Among other events to be held at Dodger Stadium are the Pope visiting, a Beatles concert in 1966, The Three Tenors in 1994, Elton John in 1975, Michael Jackson in 1984, Beyoncé’s “Formation World Tour,” Billy Joel, the Eagles, Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, Paul McCartney, BLACKPINK and Jonas Brothers among others.
On January 25, 2014, the NHL held their annual “Winter Classic” game at Dodger Stadium, with the Anaheim Ducks shutting out the Los Angeles Kings, 3-0.
Another Dodger Stadium milestone was achieved in 2022, when Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias became the first comedian to perform at Chavez Ravine, with two sold-out shows.
Harlem Globetrotters history
The Globetrotters were established in 1926 on the South Side of Chicago, where all their original players were raised. A dispute caused several players to leave in 1928, and the team rebranded that fall to the “Globe Trotters.”
They went back on tour the following year and became regular participants in the World Professional Basketball Tournament. Arguably their biggest moment came when defeating the Minneapolis Lakers during a heavily-attended game in 1948.
In 1950, Harlem Globetrotter Chuck Cooper became the first Black player to be drafted in the NBA. His former Globetrotters teammate Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton the became the Black black player to sign an NBA deal when the New York Knicks purchased his contract for $12,500.
The Harlem Globetrotters received $10,000, while Clifton got $2,500.
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