(bright upbeat music) - Welcome to "Business Forward" I'm your host, Matt George.

Joining me tonight, Curley Boo Johnson, former Harlem Globetrotter Basketball Star, Welcome Curley.

- Oh, good to see you Matt.

- Yeah, it's good seeing you.

I haven't talked to you in a couple years, but you get back to Peoria a lot, don't you?

- I get back on average, probably once a month.

- Yeah.

So, we do have a lot to talk about, and are you from Peoria?

Were you born here?

- Born in Chicago, we moved to Peoria, while when I was five years old, 1970.

- 1970.

Well, I mean very visible name in Peoria.

Great family.

I'd heard a lot of stories about your dad, which I think you probably would love to talk about, so I'd like to ask a couple questions about him.

So, Curley Senior, He's pretty tough basketball player, wasn't he?

- Yes, he was.

(laughs) - I mean, is that where you got everything from, just following in his footsteps?

- Absolutely.

He gave me the love for the game at an early age.

When we moved to Peoria in 1970, Bradley hired him as a Head of Security.

So, in the summers, when I was out of school, I basically grew up on Bradley's campus.

And got to go to every Bradley game, got to be the ball boy, I would hang out with a lot of the players in the summer, in the gym and my first love was actually the Globetrotters first, and then Bradley basketball, second.

- Well, I'm going to get to the Globetrotters piece 'cause I, there's a fun story there, but I mean, back to your dad, I read something, he was the Jackie Robinson of Bradley, explain that.

(Curley laughing) - Well, my dad came out of a high school power, called Chicago DuSable.

And they lost it in the 19... they went to state back-to-back years, won the city championship which as you all know, was a prestigious thing to just to get out of the city and make it to champagne.

His senior year, his team lost in the championship in a very controversial way.

The six seniors on my dad's team all went to Division I Colleges, two went to Northern Illinois, two went to Indiana and two went to Bradley.

And my dad was one of the two along with his teammate, Shelley Macmillan.

- Okay - And they became the first blacks to play varsity at Bradley University and they won a national title in 1957 which is his junior year, so yeah, you could call my dad and Shelly Macmillan the Jackie Robinson's of Bradley basketball but there was a story that came out by Jim Mattson, I want to say three years ago now about an athlete named Lynch Conway who's from my high school, Peoria High, who actually played basketball for Bradley in 1909, maybe.

- [Matt] Oh, wow.

- And turns out that he was black, but he passed for white.

So I don't know.

(chuckles) I don't know who has that distinction anymore.

- Yeah.

- But my dad was unapologetically black, everybody knew he was, (Matt laughing) which Mitch Conway was had the complexion for the collection, I don't know what you call it.

- Ah, that's good.

That's good.

Well, that's a cool story.

I just wondered what your part of that story was.

And so, did you try out for the Globetrotters because your dad's connection, is that how that happened?

How did you even get a tryout for the Globetrotters?

- A lot of people think that wasn't an easy role for me because my dad played with him briefly, he played against him and he knew a lot of the players.

But my dad passed away when I was 19, when I was a freshman in college or my sophomore year of college.

And when I tried out for the Globetrotters four years later, Geese Ausbie was gone, Curly Neal was gone, Meadowlark was gone all the guys, Bobby Joe Mason, who played at Bradley all those guys were gone.

So I didn't know what one player on the Globetrotters when I tried out.

I got to try out because they found out about all the crazy things I was doing in games at Loras College.

- [Matt] Right.

- That's how I got the tryout.

I didn't have any help with the Globetrotters, I knew as a child, none whatsoever.

- Well, that's interesting.

I think people would wonder that if they knew the story about your dad, and so that really says a lot about you.

So if you go back to Loras College, your number is retired correct?

- That's correct.

- And was your dribbling in college?

What you were known for was your play-making, I mean, what were you known for?

Because I've seen you dribble, it's unbelievable, it's, super fast, it's faster than the average person, is that what you're known for?

- Yeah.

There's no doubt.

I was known for being a dribbler for the Globetrotters and ball handler for that matter.

But first and foremost, I was a guard, I was a ballplayer first, who happened to be able to do amazing things, dribbling and handling the basketball and it was right up the Globetrotters alley and I stayed and traveled through that alley for it took me what?

18 years and 94 countries.

- [Matt] Wow.

- So that's what got me there and that's what kept me there for many years.

- Well we're going to talk about that, I want to talk about the business of basketball in a second and not related to money or anything but really I want to relate it to the importance to kids, the business of helping kids, I'm going to get to that in a second but, do you have a story about the Harlem Globetrotters coming to your house when you were a kid and having dinner or lunch or something?

- They came quite a bit, Bobby Joe Mason played alongside my dad at Bradley, he and a guy by the name of Joe Billy McDade where the number three and number four blacks to play for Bradley and they were on that championship team together.

Well, Bobby Joe went on to play for the Globetrotters for 15 years.

- [Matt] Wow.

- And he was an incredible player, he was one of the guys that was on the cartoons, you know?

So, yeah.

Where is he on here?

There's old Bobby Joe right there.

- [Matt] That's so cool.

- So he was one of the guys that was on the cartoon.

I've known him ever since I was a little boy and when the Globetrotters would come to Chicago we would get tickets, in Chicago Stadium we would get tickets and one thing that you always want when you're a Globetrotter, when you're traveling, is a home cooked meal you never realize the importance of a home cooked meal until you travel like we do.

So they would come by the house and I was just a little boy looking at all these tall brothers walking in with the long coats and their hats and the swag that they had, I wanted to be just like them.

So, that carried over to when we moved to Peoria, the guys if they had time, they would come by the house to eat and same thing I would watch him walk in and just marvel at these brothers that I used to see on the cartoons, that I used to see on ABC Wide World of Sports, Love Boat, White Shadow, they were everywhere.

- [Matt] Right.

- And now they're in my house, so it was kind of cool.

Then that night I would go watch him play and I got to be the ball boy and be in the locker room with them and every year they would teach me something magical to do with the basketball and I would go work on it and in no time at all, I was doing a lot of their tricks, a lot of their style was reminiscent of my style early on.

- I mean, in a way you had mentors and didn't even know it, right?

- I knew it.

I just didn't know how far it was going to take me because when I started to exhibit some of the style of the Globetrotters, when I was in fourth and fifth grade, I got in a lot of trouble Matt.

Coaches did not like.

(Matt laughing) Me dribbling between my legs and going behind my back and if you I'm 56 now, but if you tell a kid today that I used to get in trouble for drilling between my legs and behind my back they would think that that would be crazy.

- Right.

- But that was a sign of the times.

It was looked upon as a showboating, hot dogging, what have you, so-- - Yeah it's funny, 'cause it just reminds me, I coached my son he's nine, I coach his basketball and he dribbled on one play this year and crossed half court and shot a three pointer and I looked at him, I said, go sit down, you're not going to shoot like that, and he says, 'Steph Curry dad."

- (laughs) That's right.

That's right they emulate what they see on TV, same way that I did.

And the guys I used to like were the guys that had that showmanship in their game, I love Pistol Pete.

One of my biggest regrets is not having a chance to meet him, he passed away I think maybe a year before I joined the Globetrotters, I love Earl the Pearl Monroe, Tiny Nate Archibald of course Magic.

- [Matt] Dr. Jay.

- I like his flair, I like Larry Bird and of course the world famous Harlem Globetrotters so, all of that above, all of the above is what I watch.

Same as your son, he sees Steph Curry come down and shoot one from almost half-court and then go work on this stuff and like, hey they feel that they can do it too.

- Yeah that's pretty cool.

So 94 countries, you played in 4,200 plus games.

I mean, I was reading that and I knew it but if you think that's a heck of a lot of games right there, I mean, that just kind of goes back to your comment-- - We won them all too.

- (laughs) The only undefeated 4,200 to nothing.

That's awesome.

So something kind of interesting is and I remember you when I had a restaurant at one time you gave me a couple pictures to put in there of a picture of you and the Pope.

Was that just an unreal experience?

You being able to do that?

'Cause I know you met some unbelievable people along the way Presidents and Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela and the list goes on but, those take the Pope, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, who in the world gets to meet those people other than a Harlem Globetrotter?

- I don't know either, I've thought about that many times now that I'm retired and I've been away from the Globetrotters for good Lord, 14 years now it's giving me a chance to reflect and I don't know what else I could have done to meet the people that you just mentioned, Mother Teresa, Mandela and the Pope are the three that come to mind first and not only to meet them but to spend a little bit of time with them.

I never thought I would shake Mandela's hand, I had so much respect for this man and when I finally met him, I was completely overwhelmed, with the greatness of the, and the magnitude of the person.

So I don't know what else I could have done to go to 94 countries and actually see the countries and spend some time and meet the people and enjoy a little bit of their culture except for being a Harlem Globetrotter and that's why I've always said, we're the best ambassadors that this country has ever had because in the 94 countries I've been to, a lot of them don't like Americans.

I'll just say it, I'll be honest, they do not like Americans but they love the Globetrotters.

So I think we're a great representation of this country and my old uniform up there, that's what?

Red, white, and blue with stars and everybody knows the shorts are red and white striped, that's the American flag.

So we went to places where people, did not particularly like Americans but they loved us and we were safe.

We went to hostile places and we were safe.

- I love that safe, because that is exactly what this world needs right now and you felt it, you experienced it when you met Mandela, did you just have chills?

I mean, was it almost like an out of body experience or something?

I mean that is just about as cool as it gets.

- I cried.

- [Matt] Did you?

- I cried Matt.

The one picture I have shaken his hands my eyes are shut because I was like I said I was so overwhelmed by the greatness of this man who spent 27 years in prison, becomes President of the country that once imprisoned to him, many of those years, they kept them in the dark and when he came and shook my hand I was the last one on the team that he greeted 'cause I was the shortest.

So he went, we were lined up from tallest to shortest, so I was on the end and when he came up, he said, "I like the way you pat, pat, pat, that ball.

"I like the way you pat, pat, pat."

And I was just, I lost it.

- [Matt] Man.

- You know, 'cause basketball is not a sport that is existing at all in South Africa so, he just, when he told me that and I just thanked him, I was speechless, I was numb and I was crying because I was overwhelmed completely.

And I've never been that way with any man that I've ever met or a woman for that matter (laughs) - Yeah.

That's crazy.

I'm sitting here in studio I just got chills I don't think I've ever interviewed anybody that has given me chills like that, that is that's very cool story all right.

So I'm going to switch gears here.

You and your dad sitting there, you're a little kid picture of Meadowlark Lemon.

I've got a funny story about him, I think that picture was in 1973 and I know your dad knew him, I know you knew him.

Meadowlark Lemon was just the legend back then, wasn't he?

- Absolutely, he was bigger than most names in the NBA.

- [Matt] All right.

- And was making more money than most athletes and had a name that was known around the world.

I believe that Curly Neal to me is the most one of the most recognizable faces in history and the most recognizable face as a Globetrotter but Meadowlark's name comes first.

- It's a cool name.

So here's a little side story here in 1979, I grew up in Danville, Illinois, and in 1979 he was on a team called the Bucket Tears, and they came to Danville at the civic center there and I got to go out on court and got to stand next to him and I it's amazing how all of you, but especially Meadowlark, just to watch him do that half court kind of hook shot, I'll never have that leave my mind.

It is just an amazing, how many he made, it's crazy.

- Well, I played with him for about four months, he came on a farewell tour.

He was 59 when I played with him.

And when we came to Peoria, my hometown, of course he hit three in a row.

He turned it out.

He absolutely turned it out.

And I remember thanking him, I said, hey man, thanks for doing that for my hometown.

- [Matt] That's awesome.

- And he was amazing.

I mean, even at 59, there was nights that he amazed.

Like I just, the story I just told you, but I've studied him, I've seen this so many films of him, I know that he was a consummate professional, he was a hard worker and he never took a night off, never took a night off.

- Crazy.

- In fact, from what I'm told, he only missed one game in his career and that's cause he got stabbed in the chest, but he still showed up.

That's another story for another day.

(Matt laughing) But he still showed up for the game with stitches in his chest and was mad that Abe Saperstein or whoever wouldn't let him play.

That was him.

- That's crazy But here's the kicker, everyone across the world wanted to see Meadowlark.

- I, you know what?

During my career, I played what?

From 1988 to 2006, 2007, it wasn't a day that probably went by where somebody didn't where's Curley?

Where's Meadowlark?

You know and I equate it to James Bond.

Growing up I loved, who was it?

Roger Moore and Sean Connery, those were my James Bonds, right?

And these new James Bonds they got now, I don't know their names.

I have no desire to watch the movies 'cause those two guys were Double O Seven for me.

And a lot of people feel that way about the Globetrotters the guys that they grew up with, Curley, the Meadowlark those are the Globetrotter.

So it was tough for us to follow that act but it was hardly a day that somebody didn't ask, where's Meadowlark?

- That's fun.

- I can answer that question now.

They're both in heaven.

- That's awesome.

That's awesome.

So when you think of Peoria and actually, all of Central Illinois, think about, let's talk about kids for a minute, because you've done so much over not just what the Globetrotters, arguably more after the Globetrotters using your brand, your name, your donating your time and but if you think about, if you take like Marcella Somerville and David Booth and Derek and A.J Guyton and Daniel Rough and all these guys, and I'm leaving out some I know but all these guys, give back to the community have you ever seen a basketball community give back to the kids?

Like what you see here in Central Illinois?

- I would assume there are other communities where brothers give back but, wow, you just mentioned a lot of legendary Peoria of basketball players who have all given back and there's many more and there's more to come, which is great but, no, I can't think of any other community 'cause I'm not well versed on any other community like I am in Peoria so all those guys you mentioned, they all give back and it's needed.

- It's needed.

- [Curley] Yes.

- How needed is basketball?

And you can talk about any sport but really in today's world with all that's going on, how important is the sport?

To the kids?

- Sport of basketball or sports in general?

- [Matt] Sports of basketball to kids?

- Well, I can only speak for the way that I grew up.

- [Matt] Yeah.

- And I think it's very important now that I'm a man, it's very important to be involved in activities.

You know studies have shown that, that kids that are involved in extracurricular activities especially sports tend not to get in trouble you know, and 10 to learn responsibility, accountability.

So if you're it's a basketball hotbed, it always has been as far as I've been associated with Peoria we moved there in 1970 not only did I go to all the Bradley games and I can reel off probably a 100 players that played for the brace when I was a kid, they were an inspiration but I also knew the players that played at East Peoria High School.

Roger Phegley, I remember him, I remember the prude holes over there, I remember the great Pekin players, I remember the Washington players, They're great rituals players, Derek Holkham, Mark Smith, Suge Williams and others.

The search, The Great Central Players, Dewayne Banks, The Ruffins and there's a lot of them and all of them can ball, The Banks Boys, Tony Gower.

If I leave somebody out, I'll make up for it later but (Matt laughing) You can, I remember the guys at limestone, I remember the guys at Morton.

So, growing up, they were an inspiration.

- [Matt] Yeah.

- And younger kids look up to them and want to be like them and they're pretty good people to want to emulate.

- All right.

- And that's why like at my camp I hire the top high school basketball players in Central Illinois and when I lined all the kids up all my coaches who are basketball stars, I tell the campers, if you're serious about being a great athlete and a role model, here they are, this is what you should strive to be right behind me.

So, that's a legacy that goes on in Peoria is it's a basketball town, but I played football too Matt.

I was little, got my butt lit up a lot but I played football.

(Matt laughing) I played baseball, got hit in the face with a curve ball, never played again, but we were always doing something.

If me and my friends in the neighborhood wasn't swimming we were playing anything, that was fun and it was healthy and I think it helped us.

So it's important for kids to get involved or at least try to.

- And that's what your camp does, right?

I mean, you're trying to get as many people, as many kids into some sort of activities in this case, it's basketball.

But like you just said, it's just very important in this day and age, it's no different than it was 20 years ago, 30 years ago when we were kids or 40 years ago when we were kids.

But I think.

- It is a little different Matt, kids have more alternatives than we did.

You know that, you know, they have that and, but we had to get outside and play and kids have the video games and I probably would have been one that would have been playing those video games as well, they're fun.

- Yeah.

They are.

Do you watch NBA in college?

I mean, are you still a huge basketball fan period?

- I watch it on all levels.

- [Matt] All right.

- All levels.

And I also watch baseball, I watch football, I watch all sports.

Not all, but most.

- Most.

Who in the NBA do you think are just great role models right now, Just for the kids to look up to?

I mentioned Steph Curry just because I probably purchased every Jersey he's ever had just because my son just loves the guy but, I mean, there's just so many guys that are, just great role models right now.

- Well, the ones that come up, there are so many but the ones that come to mind, I like LeBron, I'm a LeBron fan.

I like Curry.

Who else?

Those two right.

I'll just stop right there.

- [Matt] All right.

- I like Curry and I like LeBron, the longevity, what he's done it's just amazing what he does for his community, I believe he built a school.

- [Matt] Scholarship.

- He's never caused any distractions, never been in trouble.

So I think he's a good role model but, at the same time, he's like the most hated superstar athlete I've ever seen.

- I know it's crazy.

- That didn't get in trouble (chuckles) - Yeah.

It's crazy.

I'm guessing your dad was a big mentor of yours, did you have any other coaches that stuck out that helped you along?

That's come to mind.

- Wow.

- [Matt] Your Loras' Coach or?

- Well, of course my Loras' Coach but I always say this, one thing that you will never forget is your coaches for better, for worse, you know, you never forget them and all of them had impact on me.

The ones that I didn't see eye to eye with, they actually motivated me in a sense you know?

And they all impact you in some way.

I remember coaches I had in JFL and Biddy basketball, I keep in touch with some of them, my JFL coach, Joe Romolo, mad respect to him, Jerry Rashford was my JFL coach.

- [Matt] Yeah.

- My football coaches - Well Curley I'm sorry I got cut you off.

I think we could go a whole nother two segments 'cause I'd still want to talk more about the kids but I just want to tell you thank you for what you do for the community.

Thank you for everything coming back and your camps and I appreciate it.

I'm Matt George, that was Curley Boo Johnson and this is "Business Forward."

- [Curley] Thank you.

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