Harlem Globetrotters basketball set for space Two basketballs included aboard space shuttle on Hubble repair mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Harlem Globetrotters will soon have a presence in space.
On board shuttle Atlantis when it lifts off Monday on a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope will be a pair of basketballs. One belongs to the Globetrotters. The other, on loan from the University of Chicago, was once handled by Edwin Hubble, the astronomer for whom the telescope is named. Astronaut John Grunsfeld, an alumnus, is taking it up.
Hubble tossed the ball around in a 1909 victory against Indiana University. Hubble was a star forward on the University of Chicago's Big Ten champion teams of 1907-1908 and 1908-1909.
The Globetrotters also have ties to Chicago. That's where they were founded in 1926.
After traveling to 120 countries and six continents, the Globetrotters wanted to expand into space.
The Globetrotters will put their ball on display at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The Hubble ball will go back to the University of Chicago.
TL Viewpoint: I love the last graph of this story! My cohorts in PR on this, Chris B and Brett M, did a masterful job with this story. We're hoping to knock it home after the brave crew of Atlantis returns home safely.
"The ball will go to Springfield and the Hubble will go back to Chicago, made me laugh out loud, and makes me think we should send the ball to Chicago and the Hubble to Springfield and the great Basketball Hall of Fame!" Call me crazy?
Seriously, this is the FUN part of PR that we should all LOVE! It makes the job rewarding as we take good care of our respective clients. Fans love this stuff and media east it up (quick search research showed 4,387 stories/print/electronic/online/blog/social media/etc).
See the cool launch with our ball safely tucked and all deflated inside!
TL
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