WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
HeraldSports
The view
through the
back window
It’s not every day you get a
spotlight into the past. As a millennial,
I’m constantly reminded that the
world I’ve come to know in many
ways is drastically different from the
way the world once was. Sometimes,
when talking about my career with
my dad, he’ll just shake his head and
say everything is so different than
when he was my age, that he can’t
give me any real solid advice because
of that fact.
Time marches on,
things change. It’s the
way of the world.
But some of that
change is monumental,
and painful, too.
The Harlam
Sam
Globetrotters mean
Barbee
more to sports — and
FROM THE
SIDELINES
this culture at large —
than simply a comedy
basketball team that has transcended
sports and invaded pop culture.
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in Chicago. The city is being ravaged
by organized crime due to Prohibition.
It goes without saying that racially,
things weren’t equal. Though the
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instituted Jim Crow laws, African-
Americans had a tough time breaking
into the dominantly white society. As
happens now, some members of the
marginalized community turned to
less reputable sources of income, and
the problem only got worse.
Enter Abe Saperstein, who wanted
to start a comedy basketball team.
But he wanted to take it a step further.
He wanted to start a black comedy
basketball team, something that was
near-unheard of then.
“From all the stories that my father
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daughter Eloise said. “It was very
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start an all-white comedy team. There
weren’t too many African-American
players out there. There weren’t other
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Mothers and grandmothers
would call Saperstein and beg him
to take their son or grandson. One
name in particular stuck out: Leon
Hillard. Eloise called him a “dribbler
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school, and was referred to Saperstein
by his family, who, like many others
said, “My son can play basketball.
Take him on the road with you. Save
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For many of the original
Globetrotters, playing for Saperstein
was the only place they could be paid
to play. Basketball — and all sports
at that time — were considered white
activities. Jackie Robinson famously
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years after Saperstein started paying
black players. The NBA, which was
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Oftentimes, the players would
sleep on the bus, or, like in Montana
or North Dakota they would have to
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sleep under a roof. In Europe, they
would go into a restaurant and clean
the place out. All the patrons would
leave. So, the Globetrotters crew
would get to work. Eloise would set
the table. Another man would make
coffee, another would scramble eggs.
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would leave “a stack of money on the
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the communication barrier was too
much.
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were basketball players, but they’d
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This wasn’t that long ago, and
look where we’ve come. Looking
out of the back window of the car
and seeing how far we’ve driven
is something most kids do. That’s
all I’m doing. The Globetrotters,
in part, are a measuring stick. Now
they have a woman playing for
them. For its entire history, the
Globetrotters have been marching
to the beat of their own drum,
following the lead of Abe Saperstein
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Even if you don’t like basketball,
or don’t like the Globetrotters’
brand of it, you have to understand
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might be a little heavy-handed to
say the Globetrotters were crucial to
the development of equality over the
decades, but they certainly helped.
— Sam Barbee is a sports report-
er for the Hermiston Herald and
East Oregonian based out of Herm-
iston. He can be reached by email at
sbarbee@hermistonherald.com or
on Twitter @SamBarbee1. Follow
Herald Sports @HHeraldSports.
Follow sports on Twitter
@HHeraldSports
Bulldogs rout Bucks in War on 84
Kiana Heehn scores 15
points off bench
to lead Bulldogs
By SAM BARBEE
Staff Writer
Kiana Heehn transferred from
Pendleton as a middle schooler
and watched her older sister play at
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to let her only varsity game there
be a disappointment.
The senior reserve scored 15
points off the bench — all on
3-pointers — to lead all scorers and
helped, in part, propel the Bulldogs
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ton Buckaroos Friday night.
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Maddy Juul and Sara Ramirez
each added 13 points for Hermis-
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“I think it helped a lot I was back
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She added that a blowout win on
the road is made especially sweet
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in Headings manned last season,
a sharp-shooter coming off the
bench. Heehn set the tone for the
second quarter after a relatively
quiet initial period.
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ter, which Hermiston took control
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straight Buck turnovers, Heehn hit
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second quarter’s opening posses-
sion to push the count to 18-7.
Two minutes later, she hit an-
other, starting a two-minute stretch
where she would hit three 3s in
total. They came in the midst of a
19-1 run that took a competitive
game and made it a blowout.
Overall, Hermiston shot 6 of 7
from 3-point range in the second
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and 11 of 17 for the game. From
there, Hermiston coach Steve Hof-
fert just sat back and watched his
team play.
“I’ve had the luxury of doing
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“They’re just feeling so good and
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ing and they believe in each other.
I mean, Kiana Heehn comes off
See BULLDOGS, A10
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston’s Jansen Edmiston shoots the ball over Pendleton’s Shelby Greb
in the Bulldogs’ 76-32 win against the Bucks on Friday in Pendleton.
Hermiston’s Simon chooses MSU-Northern
By SAM BARBEE
Staff Writer
Since he was in third grade,
Hayden Simon wanted to play
college football. He dreamed of
playing at Ohio State University, a
school bigger than Umatilla Coun-
ty entirely.
Now, a decade later, Simon has
realized his childhood dream, sign-
ing with Montana State Northern
in Harve, Montana last week and
joins a Lights program trying to
pull itself out of a hole when they
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level. Simon will play middle line-
backer and maybe get a few oppor-
tunities to run the ball, something
he did as a senior at Hermiston.
“I just really liked their academ-
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taking his visit in late January, “re-
ally liked the people there. That’
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Academically, Northern provid-
ed some things the Simon family
was excited to see. It has a relative-
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and the student-professor ratio is
about 13 or 14-1
Simon started playing football
in fourth grade and was coached, in
part, by his dad Mike, who helped
oversee Simon’s football teams until
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mon was about to made the transition
into seventh grade football, Mike got
an inkling that his son might have the
tools to continue playing.
“I started noticing when he
was sixth grade entering into ju-
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ability athletic-wise to go to the
next level of football, whether it’s
high school, onto the varsity, and
then college. Ultimately it was on
Hayden and his work ethic to get
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STAFF PHOTOS BY SAM BARBEE
Hayden Simon of Hermiston smile with his parents Deannie (far left) and Mike after signing a National Letter
of Intent Wednesday.
A three-year starter, Simon was
an anchor on Hermiston’s defense,
which was one of the best units in
the state as the Bulldogs won the
state championship in his junior
season. In total, Simon recorded
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loss, two fumbles recovered, three
fumbles forced, six passes defend-
ed, three hurries and two blocked
punts. As a running back his senior
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Hermiston’s zone scheme and ac-
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ry average.
Simon’s best season in terms
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ty level, making 71 total stops, 37
of which were solo jobs. His best
statistical season, though, was his
junior campaign that resulted in a
state title. His 63 total tackles was
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les for loss tied Jessee Rodelo for
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orable play from that season was
knocking down what would have
been a sure touchdown pass in a
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that likely propelled the Bulldogs
to its only title. He made an impact
right away, recording eight tack-
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trouncing of Rex Putnam.
Simon said his decision to at-
tend Northern came rather quickly.
He visited the campus in Havre “a
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knew then he would later sign. His
position coach, linebackers coach
Arthur Smith, made an impact on
Simon right away.
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said of Smith. “If you meet him,
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There were a couple other
schools in the mix. He exchanged
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several times, but Simon never se-
riously considered the Eagles, he
said. Pittsburg State in Pittsburg,
Kansas was also in the running.
He had also been in contact with
several local schools, including
Eastern Oregon, but really want-
ed to leave the area and “have the
full experience away from my
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drive from Hermiston.
For his parents, Mike and Dean-
nie, there wasn’t any interference
from them regarding their son’s
choice. They like the campus, like
the town of Havre, which is sim-
ilarly sized, and don’t mind he’s
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home.
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said matter-of-factly. “I enjoy
watching Hayden. It makes me
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Globetrotters making a pit stop in Kennewick
By SAM BARBEE
called. “I was 7 or 8. I didn’t know
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Chamberlain wanted a little
The sight must have been curi-
sports car, but, being 7 feet tall,
ous.
A seven-foot tall black man that wasn’t the easiest proposition.
and a short, 7-year-old white girl So the salesman said he would re-
approaching a Jaguar dealership PRYHWKHIURQWVHDWVÀLSWKHGRRUV
in London in 1958 had to have around so the swung the other way,
been interesting. The man was which allowed Chamberlain to
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Eloise Saperstein, the daughter of from the back seat.
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Harlam Globetrotters founder and
longtime coach Abe Saperstein. KRPHWR3KLODGHOSKLD´KHVDLG
---
Chamberlain was a rookie that
The uniforms are nearly as fa-
year, and hated being a rookie, Elo-
ise said. He was forced to carry the mous as the name. The blue tops
veterans’ bags — a tradition still with stars embroidered on the front
employed in the NBA, and hated and back. The white shorts with
it. He wanted to buy a Jaguar, but red stripes, the antics on the court,
the vets wouldn’t go with him. So the playful demeanor of the play-
ers and the very name itself are
he took Eloise.
“My job was to sit in the car and famous. Even if you don’t know
he would say, ‘How does it feel? anything about sports, you know
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Staff Writer
The Harlem Globetrotters. The
name itself conjures up scenes of
fancy dribbling, antics with and in
the crowd and famous basketball
names that transcend the sport. On
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trotters will perform at 3 p.m. at
the Toyota Center in Kennewick,
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Catholic Church, with the help of
new-ish resident Mark Gemolski,
is spear-heading the event, provid-
ing group rates for tickets.
A comedy basketball team start-
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started a residency at the Savo-
by Ballroom the next year. It was
called the Savoy Big Five, and was
organized into the New York Har-
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the direction of Abe Saperstein.
Saperstein chose Harlem as the
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because a out-of-town team sound-
ed better, and because Harlem was
thought to be the center of black
culture at the time. The Harlem Re-
naissance was in full swing under
Langston Hughes, and Saperstein
wanted to connect his group of
Chicago south-siders and their cre-
ative form of hoops to the seeming-
ly endless supply of creativity from
Harlem.
The Globetrotters functioned
as a way for African-Americans to
play professional basketball while
most of American athletics were
segregated. The Globetrotters, at
one point, were a competitive or-
ganization that participated in the
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Tournament and won the thing in
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See TROTTERS, A10