Carl Green Inducted in 1999
Carl Green
Carl C. Green (February 14, 1934-June 25, 2023) a Harlem native, attended Benjamin Franklin High School in East Harlem, where he was named first-team All-New York City. He was named captain of the Herald-Tribune's Fresh Air Fund All-Star team. He also led the Harlem YMCA Juniors team, compiled a 25-1 record, and was inducted into the Amsterdam News High School "Hall of Fame". Green later attended Winston Salem Teachers College in North Carolina where played for legendary Hall of Famer Clarence “Big House” Gaines.
In an interview with the Amsterdam News (2012), Green spoke about his start with the Harlem Globetrotters and his travels with the team. At the time African American boys wanted to be Harlem Globetrotters, the were the best. Pop Gates, a legendary New York Renaissance star, was on the 1939 Rens team that won the first-ever World Professional Basketball Championship. Gates retired, coached the Harlem Globetrotters, and help Green get his start with the team. “Pop got me started,” he said.
“I would have never played with the Trotters if not for him. I was on Pop’s East team. We played in all the big cities. I played with Charlie Hoxie, Bob Hall, and Leon Wagner, both from Detroit. Abe [Saperstein] put me on the team with Bob Hall that went to Europe in the summer of 1956. Woody Saulsbury was also on the team. “When we got to Europe, Abe cut everybody’s money where everything was cheaper than in the states,” noted Green, who made a habit of sending his money back home to his mother, who banked it for him.
“That was great,” he continued. “We played in Scotland, England, France, Sweden, and Italy. We even went behind the Iron Curtain.” Green was overwhelmed when the Trotters played in Germany and went behind the Berlin Wall. ‘That was something,” he recalled. He remembered the tiny rooms they stayed in while in Germany. “Wasn’t first class,” he said with a laugh. “We went to China on one tour. We all had coats made in Hong Kong. On one tour we went to Hawaii, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. It was fantastic.” “Abe never talked or spoke to me,” recalled Green. “Maybe one or two times. That was deep. He seldom came on tours. The last time he cut my money, I left.”
The 6'5" forward Green left the Globetrotters and played on a college tour with Wilt Chamberlain. They were good friends and business partners. Green had a tryout with the then-Philadelphia Warriors, now the 76ers. He made the team and they offered him a contract of $7,000 per year, but he wanted $10,000, they wanted him to play guard.
Green recalled, “You know, I was fast, but that wasn’t my position. I wasn’t going to go out there and try to guard those little guards.” Eddie Gottlieb refused to sign Green for the $10,000, so he returned to New York. Chamberlain urged him to reconsider, but anyone who knows Green knew he would never back down. He went and spent 10 or so years in the Eastern League, becoming one of its top stars. “I just wanted to be treated fairly,” said Green, who has lived his life with the lessons he learned from his mother. “I don’t bother nobody, but I don’t want nobody to bother me. Don’t do anything to anyone that you don’t want done to you.”
Career awards and honors, February 13, 2015, a Congressional Proclamation by Charles B. Rangel, Dean, of the New York Congressional Delegation and A New York City Council Citation from Inez E. Dicken, Council Member. A NY EMMY AWARD On May 2, 2015, in which Carl Green was acknowledged for his contribution to a documentary on Arise TV News Special, The Game Changer, How The Harlem Globetrotters Battled Racism.https://awptv.com/video/the-harlem-globetrotters/
In an interview with the Amsterdam News (2012), Green spoke about his start with the Harlem Globetrotters and his travels with the team. At the time African American boys wanted to be Harlem Globetrotters, the were the best. Pop Gates, a legendary New York Renaissance star, was on the 1939 Rens team that won the first-ever World Professional Basketball Championship. Gates retired, coached the Harlem Globetrotters, and help Green get his start with the team. “Pop got me started,” he said.
“I would have never played with the Trotters if not for him. I was on Pop’s East team. We played in all the big cities. I played with Charlie Hoxie, Bob Hall, and Leon Wagner, both from Detroit. Abe [Saperstein] put me on the team with Bob Hall that went to Europe in the summer of 1956. Woody Saulsbury was also on the team. “When we got to Europe, Abe cut everybody’s money where everything was cheaper than in the states,” noted Green, who made a habit of sending his money back home to his mother, who banked it for him.
“That was great,” he continued. “We played in Scotland, England, France, Sweden, and Italy. We even went behind the Iron Curtain.” Green was overwhelmed when the Trotters played in Germany and went behind the Berlin Wall. ‘That was something,” he recalled. He remembered the tiny rooms they stayed in while in Germany. “Wasn’t first class,” he said with a laugh. “We went to China on one tour. We all had coats made in Hong Kong. On one tour we went to Hawaii, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. It was fantastic.” “Abe never talked or spoke to me,” recalled Green. “Maybe one or two times. That was deep. He seldom came on tours. The last time he cut my money, I left.”
The 6'5" forward Green left the Globetrotters and played on a college tour with Wilt Chamberlain. They were good friends and business partners. Green had a tryout with the then-Philadelphia Warriors, now the 76ers. He made the team and they offered him a contract of $7,000 per year, but he wanted $10,000, they wanted him to play guard.
Green recalled, “You know, I was fast, but that wasn’t my position. I wasn’t going to go out there and try to guard those little guards.” Eddie Gottlieb refused to sign Green for the $10,000, so he returned to New York. Chamberlain urged him to reconsider, but anyone who knows Green knew he would never back down. He went and spent 10 or so years in the Eastern League, becoming one of its top stars. “I just wanted to be treated fairly,” said Green, who has lived his life with the lessons he learned from his mother. “I don’t bother nobody, but I don’t want nobody to bother me. Don’t do anything to anyone that you don’t want done to you.”
Career awards and honors, February 13, 2015, a Congressional Proclamation by Charles B. Rangel, Dean, of the New York Congressional Delegation and A New York City Council Citation from Inez E. Dicken, Council Member. A NY EMMY AWARD On May 2, 2015, in which Carl Green was acknowledged for his contribution to a documentary on Arise TV News Special, The Game Changer, How The Harlem Globetrotters Battled Racism.https://awptv.com/video/the-harlem-globetrotters/