Player, Coach and Owner Red Klotz (far left) leads the Washington Generals in this undated photo from the late 50s. His No. 3 jersey would later become the only non-Harlem Globetrotters jersey to be retired by the organization.
A big smile and a green Washington Generals hat — those are the two things Fred “Curly” Neal remembers Red Klotz was never without. Louis Herman “Red” Klotz passed away July 12 at his home in Margate, N.J., at the age of 93, leaving the basketball world grieving for one of its most-loved legends.
Red Klotz as friends and fans remember him, sporting his Washington Generals hat and a smile.
Though Klotz was best known for his more than 60 years as owner, coach and player for American exhibition basketball team Washington Generals - the traditional opponent of the Harlem Globetrotters - he had a career long before.
Born in Philadelphia, he began playing basketball at a young age, earning Philadelphia Player of the Year honors in 1939 and 1940 for his role in leading the South Philadelphia High School team. The 5-foot-7-inch powerhouse played as point guard on the 1948 iteration Baltimore Bullets, who won the championship for the Basketball Association of America, the league that would eventually become the National Basketball Association. He remains the shortest player ever to be on an NBA championship team.
Globetrotters owner Abe Saperstein took notice of Klotz after seeing him play against the team during its first international tours. He approached Klotz in 1953 to create a team to serve as a regular opponent. The team changed names, or at least jerseys, through the years with players alternating into the colors of the Boston Shamrocks, New Jersey Reds, Baltimore Rockets and Atlantic City Seagulls during the 1971-72 season. The name changed again to the New York Nationals in 1995, again with the same players, with the Generals name returning in 2007.
Generals GM John Ferrari said that he continues to be cognizant of Klotz’s legacy.
“Red was there in the 50s and 60s, right next to Saperstein, literally introducing basketball to the rest of the world,” said Ferrari, who added that when Klotz and Saperstein toured Europe and Asia, basketball was still seen as a very foreign sport. “Red was right there and people would recognize that little guy in number three, the one who was, at times, getting his pants tugged down, he’s a really good player.”
Ferrari first met Klotz in 1980 when he took a job as road manager for the Globetrotters. His first one-on-one experience with Klotz took place over a restaurant table in Australia. The two men, one a star and one working to establish himself in the business, bonded over an adventurous experience with seafood.
“On the menu was a dish called Morton Bay Bugs, and we just couldn’t stop laughing about that,” said Ferrari. “We had never heard of it before, so of course we both ordered it.”
“I didn’t know what they were, but I had a feeling they were edible since they were on the menu,” Ferrari added.
The ‘bugs’ turned out to be a variation of shrimp.
“It’s just this memory of sitting down with a guy who I had literally met maybe a month before, who had been on tour for 30 years and who I watched growing up, and he was just nice, genuine, and fun to be with” said Ferrari. “There was no pretense or attitude.”
By 1989, Klotz stepped down from the court to focus on coaching (far right).
Over the years, Klotz became more than a boss to Ferrari, whose own father died when he was 18. Not only did Klotz step into the role of father figure to Ferrari, he also became Ferrari’s father-in-law.
Klotz hired his daughter, Jody, as business manager in the early 80s. In 1984, she and Ferrari married. Now, 30 years later, the couple has three children and a grandchild.
“You make decisions in life and don’t know when you make that turn what the path is going to be, but the day I walked onto that Globetrotters bus, that marked me in the very best way for the next 34 years,” said Ferrari.
In 1987, Ferrari left the Globetrotters to work with Klotz.
“Red said, ‘why don’t you leave the winningest team in basketball and work for the losingest team in basketball?’ I’ve been there ever since,” he added.
Klotz played with the Generals as a point guard until he was 68 years old.
Those who played against him remember Klotz’ passion for the game and quick laugh.
Louis “Sweet Lou” Dunbar, former player and current director of player personnel for the Harlem Globetrotters, said playing against Klotz was quite the experience.
“I’m 6-foot-9-inches, and he used to come out there and try to push us around,” said Dunbar. “Even when he wasn’t playing he would still go to the park and shoot every day, and he would come out before the games and be talking trash.”
“I’d say, ‘how you doing, Red?’ and he’d say ‘none of your business!’ But that was just Red joking around,” added Dunbar. “He was little in stature but he had the biggest heart.”
Though the Generals were designed to lose, Klotz and his team did so with grace and dignity.
“If you could create a person who could lose every night with passion and come back tomorrow determined to win, that was Red Klotz,” said Ferrari.
Fred “Curly” Neal played with the Globetrotters for 22 seasons, including the fateful game that Klotz and his Generals, playing under the guise of the New Jersey Reds, beat the Red, White and Blue. It all happened Jan. 5, 1971 in Martin, Tenn., ending a 2,495-game winning streak for the Harlem Globetrotters. The final scoreboard read New Jersey Reds 100 – Harlem Globetrotters 99.
Klotz (second from top left) played on the New Jersey Reds 1970-71 team that broke the Harlem Globetrotters' winning streak.
When asked if he remembers that night in 1971, Neal had a strong reaction. “Do I ever remember it — that’s my only loss!” Klotz sank the winning shot in the game’s final seconds. He was 50 years old. Instead of the traditional champagne celebration, Klotz and his team soaked themselves in orange soda to commemorate their victory. “It was good to see them win,” said Neal, quick to add with a laugh, “especially since we beat them thousands of times.”
Klotz and Neal were both known for sinking a two-hand, half-court shot and would often practice together.
With seven or more games each week and so much time on the road, Neal said there were years he spent more time with Klotz and the team than with his own family. When the team played in Neal’s hometown of Greensboro, N.C., Klotz and the Generals would join the Globetrotters for a home cooked meal of baked chicken, pinto beans, ‘chitlins,’ cornbread and pudding.
The Globetrotters organization wouldn’t be what it is today without Klotz’s influence.
Klotz (bottom center) did it all for the love of basketball and drive to put smiles on faces around the world.
“Red always put together a great team, and that kept the Harlem Globetrotters on our toes for all those years,” said Dunbar. “We had to do our best every night, so that helped the competition very much.” As a coach, several of Klotz’s players went on to play for the Globetrotters, with a few making the transition to the NBA.
Neal considers Klotz a true legend in the basketball world. The Globetrotters organization seemed to agree, making Klotz the first non-Globetrotters player to have his jersey (No. 3) retired by the team during a ceremony in 2011. Along with Neal (No. 22), Klotz was only the sixth person in Globetrotters history to have his jersey retired.
“He will be missed from every state in the union and around the world,” said Neal. “He will be missed, and I can tell you that because I miss him already.”
Klotz’s legacy will live on not only with the Globetrotters and Generals organizations, but also with his family, who will cherish their memories of the good-humored, genuine basketball legend.
“It’s important for those who knew of him or just know who the Generals are to know that Red was a truly wonderful man,” said Ferrari. “When Red shook your hand, looked you in the face and smiled, you could see that this was a good man.”
“He had a truly wonderful heart and a sense of compassion,” he added.
Those in the venue industry who dealt with Klotz confirm that sentiment. Mike McGee, consultant, whose career intertwined with Klota are many arenas, including the former Houston Summit and LMI-managed venues, noted in an email: "Amazing guy. He was active on ther basketball court well into his 80's. While his team amassed many losses against the Globetrotters, Red was a winner in every way. He was the real deal — genuine, personal, professional and dedicated. He has left a legacy of helping bring joy, happiness, fun and many memories to millions of people throughout the world."
Klotz is survived by his wife of 72 years, Gloria; his sons Chuck, Glenn and Kenneth; his daughters Ronee Groff, Kiki Smiley and Jody Ferrari; 12 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.