Inman Jackson

Inman “Big Jack” Jackson entertained legions of basketball fans for nearly two decades, playing first for the Savoy Big Five and later for the famed Harlem Globetrotters. Jackson started at center for Abe Saperstein’s band of basketball wanderers, the centerpiece of the Trotters single-post offense and three-man weave. Jackson was a late bloomer, but by the time he signed with the Trotters, he was strong, fundamentally-sound, and intimidating. Shy and introverted, Jackson adjusted to the rigorous schedule of eight games a week, and then, much to his own surprise, instituted the role of basketball’s first clown prince. On any given night he would roll the ball through an unsuspecting defender’s legs, dropkick a shot from the free throw line, or lift a teammate onto his shoulders for the final basket before the horn sounded. In March of 1940, the Harlem Globetrotters played in the second annual World Professional Tournament of Basketball. Jackson was in the twilight of his career, but still managed to contribute to the Trotters taking of the crown.