Inman Jackson
(1907-1973)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2022
Card Shown: Photo of
1930-31 Globetrotters
Position: C
Height: 6’3″
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Inman “Big Jack” Jackson, at 6’3″, played center for the Globetrotters when the team was first created in the 1920s. Although they started out as a serious professional basketball team barnstorming around the country, the iconic Globetrotters eventually evolved into a team designed to entertain their fans with a comedic form of basketball. Jackson helped begin this comedic evolution, as he was added fun and laughter to the game to the delight of his fans.
Awards and Honors
- Jackson was a star player for Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago.
- Inman played for the Savoy Big Five before joining the Globetrotters.
- In 1939, Inman and the Globetrotters fell short in their first attempt to win the World Professional Basketball Tournament. They were defeated, and the tournament was won, by the New York Rens team that featured Zach Clayton, Louis “Babe” Pressley, Charles “Tarzan” Cooper, William “Pop” Gates, John “Boy Wonder” Isaacs, and Clarence “Fats” Jenkins.
- Jackson was a member of the Globetrotter team that won the second annual World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1940. Sonny Boswell was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
- Inman was inducted into the Basketball Museum of Illinois at Bedford Park in 1974.
Points of Interest
- The Globetrotters, when they were formed, did not immediately add comedy into their game. Jackson was the first “clown prince” when the Trotters began to experiment with adding humor.
- Inman played for the Trotters for fifteen years, from 1929-1943, and often filled the role of team captain while also serving as one of the coaches on the team.
- Jackson retired from the Globetrotters as a player in 1945, but continued working with the Trotters in some capacity until his death in 1975.
- Inman has been credited with introducing the “Magic Circle” to the Globetrotters. Players stand in a circle and pass the ball back and forth while at the same time highlighting their amazing ball-handling skills.
- When the NBA was racially integrated in the 1950s, opportunities for the Globetrotters to find opponents in their barnstorming tours declined. This forced them to focus more on the comedic and entertainment aspect of their basketball team.
Statistics
Inman Jackson Statistics
(none available)
Inman Jackson Photo
Inman Jackson Videos
(Inman Jackson is the tallest player standing in the picture of the original Harlem Globetrotters at the very beginning of this video and in the video thumbnail.)
(Globetrotters Biography)