Hubert Eugene "Geese" Ausbie (born April 25, 1938) is a retired professional

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.

Early life and education

Ausbie was born in

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. He attended Douglas High School where he played on the basketball and baseball teams. He was such an exceptional basketball star; during a tournament his senior season, he averaged 40 points per game and scored 70, 54 and 62 points in three consecutive games. Following a brother of his, Ausbie attended

Philander Smith College Philander Smith University (previously Philander Smith College) is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNC ...

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. He attended from 1956 to 1960 and was a star basketball player there, earning All-Conference and

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He was one of the leading college scorers in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's College Division (later called Division II), averaging 30 points per game.

Career

Ausbie was offered contracts by

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

teams. However, he joined 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 ...

after his wife sent numerous letters describing his play to the team's founder

Abe Saperstein Abraham Michael Saperstein (; July 4, 1902 – March 15, 1966) was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily be ...

, which led to Ausbie attending an open tryout in 1961 in Chicago. Ausbie gained fame as a Globetrotter from 1961 to 1985. After the retirement of

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 ...

, Ausbie took his place as the "Clown Prince of Basketball" for his dazzling play and irrepressible pranks on the court. Ausbie retired from the team in 1985 and pursued other interests such as involvement in "Drug-Free Youth Program & Traveling Museum Showcase (a collection of Globetrotter-related memorabilia) which he has presented to hundreds of students at all grade levels in Arkansas and other states". He has served on the advisory committee for the National Youth Sports Program. In 1994, he received a Globetrotters Legends ring, a recognition given to only a few elite former players. The next year, he became

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

and manager of operations for the Globetrotters. His jersey number 35 was retired by the Globetrotters on January 31, 2017, during the Globetrotters' game at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Personal life

Ausbie was "married for 25 years to his college sweetheart, Awilda". He has four children. A Mason, Ausbie resides in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he has been a deacon at Greater Archview Baptist Church.

References

External links

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Entry
at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture 1938 births Living people Basketball players from Oklahoma Harlem Globetrotters coaches Harlem Globetrotters executives Harlem Globetrotters players People from Logan County, Oklahoma Philander Smith Panthers men's basketball players American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub