Marques Haynes

O. Marques Haynes ( born October 3, 1926 in Sand Springs, Oklahoma ) is a former American professional basketball player for the Harlem Globetrotters. The 1.83 m wide Haynes was playmaker and was regarded as one of the strongest players of his generation dribbling. In 1998 he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Haynes joined the Trotters in 1947. Since that time in the National Basketball Association black players like Haynes were spurned on racial grounds, the Trotters were in the times of segregation for African-American, the only realistic chance to earn with basketball livelihood. He amazed the audience with his enormous dribbling skills with which he was able to almost effortlessly prevail against three opponents: It was measured that Haynes was able to bounce the ball up to 6 times per second on the floor. Together with other Trotters as Reece Tatum, Meadowlark Lemon and Elmer Robinson Haynes made ​​the team popular and toured first through the United States and later throughout the world.

Haynes also played in the legendary exhibition match in 1948 against the Minneapolis Lakers of NBA superstar George Mikan, which were considered to be unbeatable. Seconds before the final score 59-59 until Haynes gave a presentation on Elmer Robinson and he netted with the final horn to the 61-59 victory. The only black Trotters defeated the all-white Lakers sensational with 61:59 and proved that African- Americans had the same talent as white Americans. Thus Haynes contributed to the fact that in 1950 the racial segregation in the NBA has been lifted.

Haynes played in more than 12,000 games, traveled over four million miles in 97 states and was still playing when he was 60. He is considered one of the greatest trotter of all time, and awarded as thanks Trotters player's shirt number 20 never more.

Credentials

• Harlem Globetrotter - The team that changed the world. DVD ( Warner Home Video).