In the 70s, one needn’t even be a hoops fan to know who the Harlem Globetrotters were. Formed in 1927 by millionaire Abe Saperstein, the Globetrotters were known around the world for their acrobatic and gravity-defying antics on the court. As they helped to define professional basketball, whistling “Sweet Georgia Brown” all along the way, their celebrity appeal soared to slam-dunking heights and they were soon frequent guests on shows such as The CBS Sports Spectacular and ABC’s Wide World of Sports. And with superstar status firmly secured, there was really only one place to go, the arena of Saturday morning television in their animated show, Hanna Barbera’s The Harlem Globetrotters.

The whole crew was there, from Meadowlark Lemon to Curly, Geese to Gip. Granny managed the team and drove the patriotic Stars and Stripes bus, always accompanied by Dribbles, the team’s canine mascot. With each stop of the tour bus, the Globetrotters would find themselves involved in some sort of conflict that would lead to a score-settling basketball game. While their opponents often rigged the contests to ensure defeat, somehow the team always managed to bounce back in the second half, their invincible reputation secure.

The show lasted for three seasons before ending in 1973 and holds the distinction of being the first Saturday morning animated series to feature African-American characters. The end of the show didn’t, however, spell the end of the animated Globetrotters - not by a long shot. They would appear in The New Scooby-Doo Movies in 1972 and 1973, and in The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine, which ran from 1974-76. They would pair up with C.B. Bears and The Herculoids in the 1978 Saturday morning series, The Go-Go Globetrotters, and in 1979, it was time for The Super Globetrotters, which three months later became The Godzilla/Globetrotters Adventure Hour.