Sports
Harlem Globetrotters legend Hubert 'Geese' Ausbie, an Oklahoma native, dies at 88
Hubert 'Geese' Ausbie, the Crescent, Oklahoma native who starred for the Harlem Globetrotters for 24 years and was known as the 'Clown Prince of Basketball,' has died at 88. The Globetrotters called him 'a Hall of Fame person' whose showmanship and community commitment set the standard for today's stars.
Hubert "Geese" Ausbie, the Oklahoma-born showman who spent more than two decades dazzling audiences with the Harlem Globetrotters and became known as the "Clown Prince of Basketball," died at 88, the team announced. No cause of death was given.
Ausbie was born in Crescent, Oklahoma, on April 25, 1938, and his basketball talent was evident early. At Crescent's Douglass High School, he led his team to four consecutive state championships and once scored 70 points in a single game, according to the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation.
His high school performance drew more than 200 scholarship offers, and he accepted a basketball scholarship to Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. He finished his senior year as the third-leading scorer in the nation.
After graduation, Ausbie turned down a professional baseball contract with the Chicago Cubs to pursue basketball. He tried out for the Globetrotters at an open session in Chicago, where he was selected from a field of more than 500 players from across the country, the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation said.
Ausbie played for the Globetrotters from 1961 until his retirement in 1985, a 24-year run that made him one of the most influential figures in the team's history. In a statement, the Globetrotters said Ausbie "exemplified everything the Globetrotters are known and recognized for, and he set the standard that our stars live by today."
"He was a true Global Ambassador who combined unrivaled showmanship with trademark athleticism and an immeasurable social impact," the team said. "His commitment to community, and an unquenchable desire to make the world around him better live on in our history."
The team added: "'Geese' was not just a Hall of Fame Globetrotter, he was a Hall of Fame person, and his legacy of love, joy and happiness continues to live on."
After retiring from basketball, Ausbie settled in Little Rock. He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2017, the Globetrotters retired his jersey number, No. 35, during a halftime ceremony at Simmons Bank Arena.
For Oklahomans, Ausbie's death marks the loss of a native son who carried the state's basketball tradition onto the world stage. His journey from a small-town high school gym in Crescent to international fame with one of the most recognizable sports franchises in the world remains a point of pride â and a reminder of the deep roots of the game in communities across the state.
Ausbie is survived by his family and millions of fans worldwide, the team said.