In international impact, it would be hard to find a basketball team that matches the Harlem Globetrotters.

True worldwide ambassadors of the game and artistic hoops wizards on the court, the Globetrotters have soared to great heights since they were founded by Abe Saperstein in 1926.

They’ve played in 120 countries since then and visited six continents. More than 128 million people have seen them on the court.

The Globetrotters welcomed the very first female, 1985 Olympian Lynette Woodard, to a men’s pro team. And they were the first pro team to play in a free and democratic South Africa, their exhibition games raising money for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

Here in the U.S., the Globetrotters also made inroads for black players to be accepted by the NBA.

In many ways, the Globetrotters have made history.

Current Harlem Globetrotter “Hot Shot” Branch recently visited Texarkana to share hoops smarts and life lessons with elementary school students in advance of the Globetrotters appearance at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30 at the Four States Fair Entertainment Center.

Branch urged kids to develop good character traits through the Globetrotters’ C.H.E.E.R. for Character program. Kids enthusiastically went along, but they were most amazed by the frenetic bounce of the basketball. His tricks elicited cheers.

Branch has been a Globetrotter for six years and can reflect on the team’s storied history.

“We started in 1926, and we’ve been around for 83 years. We started off as a barnstorming team. We played everyone. (It was) like open play, but were trying to get that mark up of being a great team,” said Branch.

Over time, the Globetrotters gained accolades as a top team, but there remained a color barrier in pro basketball.

“It was during that time African-Americans weren’t allowed to play in the NBA, and this was our version of the NBA,” Branch said of those early Globetrotter days.

It was about playing the teams that showed up, meeting whomever challenged them on the court. That’s how they established their early credibility.

“We won some and we lost some,” Branch said.

They got started in Chicago, Ill., and really had no affiliation with Harlem whatsoever. But the Harlem Renaissance was blooming at the time, representing black culture, so as a marketing move it worked.

The name Globetrotters also added some flash to the team, too, said Branch, who like other players now carries forth the team’s tradition.

“It’s a legacy, it’s a history, it’s trendsetting innovators of the alley-oop pass, the no-look pass, the crossover dribbles,” he said. “The athletes now are so big and much quicker to where their own creativity and athleticism are just tremendous. We set that platform, set that foundation, for the things you see today in the NBA.”

Wilt Chamberlain, Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal were big players when the Globetrotters were the main thing to see.

Neal, who played 22 years with the team, is known for his legendary dribbling ability. Lemon has been called the “Clown Prince” of the Globetrotters. And Chamberlain, one of the great centers of the game, played a year with the team before embarking on an illustrious NBA career.

“They had the TV shows, they had the cartoons ... those guys, they laid that foundation down. They carried the torch on from Marques Haynes and ‘Goose’ Tatum,” said Branch.

Generations of players pass the torch on, he said.

“Once a Globetrotter, always a Globetrotter,” said Branch, noting the history can’t be taken for granted, particularly because of breaking that color barrier in pro hoops.

“They opened the doors for African-Americans to get into the league when we beat the Minneapolis Lakers,” said Branch.

In that famous game in 1948, the Globetrotters beat the world champion Lakers and George Mikan, a dominant center in the league—the Shaq of his time. They did so again in 1949.

“The Lakers had won the championship ... and we wanted to get that respect. Of course the Lakers took the challenge on, and we beat them by two points,” said Branch. The NBA was considered the “highest of the highs” at the time, and the Globetrotters didn’t yet have that status until they beat the Lakers.

The Globetrotters also legitimized African-American players in the eyes of the NBA. It was Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton, a Globetrotter, who became the first black player to sign an NBA contract.

Many of the tricks you see at a Globetrotters game arose when the players were so far ahead of a team they became bored, said Branch. Those tricks gradually gained prominence in the Globetrotter style of play.

“It’s all about creativity, seeing what the people like ... we always sample stuff,” Branch said, noting current players keep the traditions but add their creativity.

“We play so many games, somebody’s going to like something that you do,” said Branch.

Though the team is rooted in tradition, out of necessity the Globetrotters have honed the show to let creativity flourish.

“We still do the same thing that they did. We just add a little more flavor and creativity to it. The times have changed. The level of entertainment has changed. Back then the Globetrotters were the most popular thing. Now all the reality shows are the top thing. We’re still fighting those barriers, but you know the Globetrotters are in everybody’s heart,” said Branch.

He said it’s important to promote the Globetrotters’ story with each successive generation.

“Once you see it, you’ve got your own story and you’re going to pass the message on,” said Branch.