‘Geese’ Ausbie, Harlem Globetrotters star, dies at 88

Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, known as the “Clown Prince of Basketball” during his 24-year tenure with the Harlem Globetrotters, died on Sunday, the team announced. He was 88.

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The Globetrotters announced Ausbie’s death in an Instagram post on Monday.

“‘Geese’ exemplified everything the Globetrotters are known and recognized for, and he set the standard that our stars live by today,” the team said. “He was a true Global Ambassador who combined unrivaled showmanship with trademark athleticism and an immeasurable social impact.

“His commitment to community, and an unquenchable desire to make the world around him better live on in our history.”

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Born in Crescent, Oklahoma, on April 25, 1938, Ausbie graduated in 1960 from Philander Smith College in Little Rock, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. He joined the Globetrotters in 1961 and spent 24 years with the team. His antics and showmanship with teammates Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal earned him the nickname of the “Clown Prince of Basketball,” according to the newspaper.

According to Ausbie’s biography at the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, he took over as the lead entertainer for the Globetrotters when Lemon left the squad in 1978.

Although Ausbie was called “Goose” during his lifetime, his nickname on the Globetrotters was altered to “Geese” because of a teammate already on the squad, Reece “Goose” Tatum, KARK reported.

After his basketball playing career ended, Ausbie coached and later served as a deacon at Greater Archview Baptist Church in Little Rock, KATV reported.

“I call him the gospel globetrotter because that’s basically the role that he fulfilled ... spreading the gospel,” Archview pastor Kenneth Martin told the television station. “In his role as a deacon and as a globetrotter and the opportunity to travel throughout the world, he was able to spread the gospel as well as fun and goodwill to those that he encountered.”

Ausbie’s No. 35 jersey with the Globetrotters was retired by the team during a halftime ceremony in 20167, KARK reported. Brett Meister, a former communications staff member for the team, said Ausbie was one of eight players in team history to have his number retired, according to KATV.

Ausbie was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 1995.