On January 7, 1927, the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team
traveled 48 miles west from Chicago to play their first game
in Hinckley, Illinois.

The Globetrotters were the creation of Abe Saperstein of
Chicago, who took over coaching duties for a team of
African American players originally known as the Savoy
Big Five (after the famous Chicago ballroom where they
played their early games).

At a time when only whites were allowed to play on
professional basketball teams, Saperstein decided to
promote his new team’s racial makeup by naming them
after Harlem, the famous African American neighborhood
of New York City.

The earliest known team photo of the Globetrotters,
from the 1930–1931 season. Standing from left: Abe        
Saperstein, Walter “Toots” Wright, Byron “Fat” Long,
Inman  Jackson, and William “Kid” Oliver. Seated: Al
“Runt” Pullins.

                  
ROSS SIMPSON

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is 80 years old today.

On December 17, 1892, Arthur Baldwin Turnure first publishes
a new magazine, dedicated to “the ceremonial side of life”
and targeted at “the sage as well as the debutante, men of
affairs as well as the belle.”

A product of the Gilded Age, Vogue has chronicled and
influenced high society, fashion and culture ever since.

The magazine has remained popular and relevant ever since,
regularly featuring the work of world-famous models,
photographers and writers.

   
Arthur Baldwin Turnure (1856–1906)

December 2025

Schindler’s List, starring Liam Neeson in the true story of
a German businessman who saves the lives of more than
a thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust, opened in
theaters.

The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and took
home seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best
Director.

It was the first Best Director win for Spielberg, who had
been nominated in the category for three of his earlier
films: 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1981’s
Raiders of the Lost Ark and 1982’s E.T.: The Extra-
Terrestrial.

Director Steven Spielberg will be 79 December 18th.