But the joke was on Saperstein. His squad was about to tip off against possibly the greatest college basketball team in the Commonwealth’s history—the Virginia Union University Panthers, known for five magical years as the Dream Team, through the late Depression and into World War II.
“Saperstein was laboring under the delusion that the fans had turned out to see the Globe Trotters’ [sic] bag of tricks. They hadn’t. They’d been forewarned that the Globe Trotters, good as they are, would have no time for frills and furbelows playing Union,” wrote Richmond Times-Dispatch sports editor Chauncey Durden two days later.
At that moment on game day, the Dream Team felt two emotions: anger—they had lost their bid for a third consecutive Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association title earlier in the week to arch rival Virginia State (in later years, the word “Central” replaced “Colored”), and fear, because the CIAA had promised it would ban the squad if Union played the Trotters.
The Globetrotters, noticing the Panthers’ small size—their tallest player stood 6-foot-2—began bringing the ball inside, but VUU’s defense, with a possible assist from the ever dimmer lights, threw the flashy visitors off their game plan. Union, in much better condition and putting together a gritty performance, kept up with the pros. The lead, never more than four points, switched nine times.
Saperstein grew fidgety. The Globe-trotters, in too much trouble to commit their comedic mayhem, became grumpy. The Panthers, known around Richmond and in the national black press for their speed and efficient offense, shut down the visitors’ attack. The usually electric Trotters spent the game’s final moments holding the ball for a final shot, and with two seconds left, Les Brown saved the day for the pros with a game-winning half-court basket and a 40-38 win.
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