Albert “Runt” Pullins
(1910-1985)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2022
Card Shown: Photo of
1930-31 Globetrotters
Position: G
Height: 5’8″
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Albert “Runt” Pullins was a 5’8″ dynamo on the basketball court. Together with Wyatt “Sonny” Boswell and Inman Jackson, the three were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as former members of the Harlem Globetrotters whose basketball talent and contributions to the game of basketball impacted thousands of people around the world.
Awards and Honors
- In 1928, Pullins led Wendell Phillips High School to a Chicago lightweight city basketball title. It was the first city title won by an African American team.
- That year Albert set a Chicago city high school single season scoring record that remained unbroken for nearly twenty years.
- Albert was chosen to be part of the Illinois All-State team in 1926.
- Runt played with the Globetrotters from 1929-1934. He followed his Globetrotter tenure with a much longer one, touring with the Harlem Clowns until 1958 in North America and the Far East.
- Pullins impacted the lives of many children with his exciting brand of basketball and his message that proclaimed the value of education. He would tell the kids that they couldn’t rely on basketball when they were 40 years old.
Points of Interest
- Albert was a player with speed, great ball handling abilities, and top shooting skills.
- In a 1975 Jet magazine article, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton said that if anyone deserved to be in the Hall of Fame it was Runt Pullins. Clifton said, “He was a little guy who played for the Globetrotters and there wasn’t a thing he couldn’t do.” Nat thought Runt should have been the first Globetrotter in the Hall of Fame.
- Pullins was one of the original members of Ape Saperstein’s Harlem Globetrotters.
- Albert was so important to the early formation and success of the Globetrotters that Saperstein, in the 1950s, placed Pullins at the top of his list of the all-time greatest Globetrotters. That meant he was on the list in front of Clifton, Reece “Goose” Tatum, and Marques Haynes.
- Pullin eventually left the Globetrotters and founded a similar barnstorming team called the Harlem Clowns. Like the Trotters, the Clowns entertained crowds with their comedy, showmanship, and an excellent brand of basketball.
Statistics
Albert Pullins Statistics
(none available)
Albert Pullins Photo
Albert Pullins Videos
(Albert Pullins is the player seated in the picture of the original Harlem Globetrotters at the very beginning of this video and in the video thumbnail.)
(Globetrotters Biography)