Frederick "Curly" Neal (May 19, 1942 – March 26, 2020) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played with the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

, instantly recognizable with his shaved bald head. Following in the footsteps of

Marques Haynes Marques Haynes (March 10, 1926 – May 22, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and member of the Harlem Globetrotters, notable for his ability to dribble the ball and keep it away from defenders. According to the 1988 film ''Harl ...

, Neal became the Trotters' featured ballhandler, a key role in the team's exhibition act.

Early life

Born in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, Neal attended

James B. Dudley High School James Benson Dudley High School is a four-year public high school located in Guilford County in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. Dudley High School was founded in 1929 as the first black high school in Guilford County, in a school system ...

and

Johnson C. Smith University Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a private historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SAC ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

from 1959 to 1963. At Smith, he averaged 23.1 points a game and was named All-

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (originally and through 1950 known as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association — CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...

(CIAA) guard.

Career

Neal played for 22 seasons (from 1963 to 1985) with the Globetrotters, appearing in more than 6,000 games in 97 countries. His shaved head earned him his nickname, a reference to the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of The Three Stooges comedy team, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and ...

, and made him one of the most recognizable Globetrotters. In the 1970s, an animated version of Neal starred with various other Globetrotters in the

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

animated cartoon ''

'' as well as its spinoff, '' The Super Globetrotters''. The animated Globetrotters also made three appearances in ''

The New Scooby-Doo Movies ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' is an American animated mystery comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is the second television series in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, and follows the first incarnation, '' Scooby-Doo, Wher ...

''. Neal himself appeared with

Meadowlark Lemon Meadowlark Lemon (born Meadow Lemon III; April 25, 1932 – December 27, 2015) ''www.meadowlarklemon.org.'' Retrieved May 8, 2017. was an American basketball player, actor, and Christian minister. For 22 years, he was known as the "Clow ...

, and his other fellow Globetrotters in a live-action Saturday morning TV show, ''

The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine ''The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine'' is a Saturday morning variety show featuring players from the basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters singing, dancing, and performing comedy sketches. Broadcast from 1974 to 1975, it was produced by F ...

'', in 1974–75, which also featured Rodney Allen Rippy and

Avery Schreiber Avery Lawrence Schreiber (April 9, 1935 – January 7, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. He was a veteran of stage, television, and movies who came to prominence in the 1960s in a comedy duo with Jack Burns. He acted in an array of roles ...

. Neal also appeared in '' The White Shadow'', ''

The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island ''The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island'' is a 1981 made-for-television comedy film. It is the third of three movies that reunited the cast of the 1964–1967 sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. The film aired on NBC on May 15, 1981. Plot The ...

'', and ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

''. On January 11, 2008, the Globetrotters announced that Neal's number 22 would be

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

on February 15 in a special ceremony at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

as part of "Curly Neal Weekend."Globetrotters to retire No. 22 during Curly Neal Weekend

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Published January 11, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2009. Neal was just the fifth Globetrotter in the team's 82-year history to have his number retired, joining

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

(13),

(36),

(20) and

Goose Tatum Reece "Goose" Tatum (May 31, 1921 – January 18, 1967) was an American Negro league baseball and basketball player. In 1942, he was signed to the Harlem Globetrotters and had an 11-year career with the team. He later formed his own team known as ...

(50). On January 31, 2008, it was announced that Neal would be inducted into the

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archi ...

. He was also granted the

' prestigious "Legends" ring, which is presented to those who make major humanitarian contributions and work for the Harlem Globetrotters organization.

Personal life and death

A mural commemorating Neal's achievements both as a Globetrotter and his time playing for Dudley High School is painted in the basketball gym of the Hayes-Taylor Memorial

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

at 1101 East Market Street in Greensboro. He had two daughters and six grandchildren. Neal lived in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

with his fiancée Linda Ware until his death. On March 26, 2020, Neal died at his home outside Houston at the age of 77. No cause of death was released, but Neal's health had been deteriorating in recent years following a stroke.

References

External links

*
Fred "Curly" Neal
at the

site {{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Curly 1942 births 2020 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Greensboro, North Carolina Harlem Globetrotters players Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls basketball players Point guards 20th-century American sportsmen