HARLEM AMBASSADORS
HISTORY
The Harlem
Ambassadors Professional Show Basketball team was conceived in Spring
1998 by Dale Moss. Moss combined an extensive career in professional
sports management and marketing with an entrepreneurial desire to create
the Harlem Ambassadors concept. Already operating a sports marketing
firm in Fort Collins, Colorado, Moss began seeking a central figure to
direct the basketball operations of the Harlem Ambassadors.
Through discussions
with several persons, Moss had chosen to contact S. “Ladè Majic”
Prophète regarding this role. She was the first and only choice for the
position, but was out-of-touch playing professionally in Israel. While
on a scouting trip for players in New York, Moss learned that she had
returned from overseas, met with her, and found they shared a common
vision for a show basketball team. Ladè Majic signed with the Harlem
Ambassadors in April 1998.
The first training
camp began in September 1998 with touring in October 1998. The
first-ever Harlem Ambassadors game was played in Mountain Home, Idaho on
October 10, 1998. The first season saw the Ambassadors play
approximately 30 games. It was also marked by a large turnover in
players as the disciplined requirements of the Ambassadors did not suit
some players. Unfortunately, two players had to be dismissed for
positive drug test results.
The second season
brought a much greater stability as younger, hungrier players with
little pro experience seized the opportunity the Harlem Ambassadors
presented and replaced many of the more spoiled, veteran overseas
professionals. As a result, there was very little roster turnover
during this campaign.
The schedule
increased to 90 games including a month-long tour of California in April
and a one-week tour of Hawaii. The Hawaii trip included a fantastic
performance before a large, energetic crowd at historic Pearl Harbor.
The season concluded with a finale game in Fort Collins, which featured
a guest appearance by basketball hall-of-famer Meadowlark Lemon. Ladè
Majic continued to lead the Ambassadors floor show, but in the second
season, found support from enthusiastic young players.
With a European Tour
that included performances for the deployed troops in Bosnia, Kosovo and
Sarejevo, the Harlem Ambassadors kicked off their third campaign in
August 2000. The team toured Midwest locations such as Indiana,
Illinois, and Ohio for the first time and added Florida, Georgia, and
Alabama as destinations. December 2000 brought the first Asian Tour,
which included performances during the Christmas season to troops in
Korea and Japan. The team also performed for KBS-TV in a nationally
televised event from Pusan, Korea. The triumphant season concluded with
a Pacific Island Tour before packed gymnasiums in Hawaii, the Marshall
Islands, Guam, Saipan, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
The 2001-2002 season
saw continued growth to nearly 120 games that season. The team
continued to serve the U.S. military, both domestically and overseas,
building the Harlem Ambassadors’ reputation as the leading provider of
entertainment services to the U.S. military worldwide. Also, for the
first time ever, the team held its annual pre-season Training Camp at a
military installation, Defense Depot Susquehanna outside of Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania.
The 2002-2003 season
also began with a military training camp at Los Angeles Air Force Base
in California. The team continued its tradition of pre-season touring
in Europe, December in Asia, and an end-of-season trip to Hawaii. For
the first time ever, the Harlem Ambassadors operated two teams, the
International Unit, which played 130 games, and a new Regional Unit,
which played 20 shows.
The 2003-2004 season
kicked off with the most intensive camp ever at the Marine Corp Mountain
Warfare Training Center high in the Sierra Mountains of California. The
International Unit played nearly 150 games, while the Regional Unit
performed about 55 shows.
The 2004-2005 season
saw the two touring Ambassadors squads having new designations. Ladè
Majic leads the Red, White, and Blue Tour which includes overseas
international touring. Veteran Ambassadors’ performer Ketrick “Jazz”
Copeland leads the Stars and Stripes Tour. Between the two
squads, we performed over 200 events during the 2004-2005. A second
woman showplayer, K.B. Buckner emerged to take the spotlight on the
Stars and Stripes Tour.
On the 2005-2006 tour the Ambassadors accomplished their most extensive touring in Canada,
including the team’s first ever visits to Canada’s Northwest and Yukon
Territories. The team also performed several events at no charge to
raise money for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and even had the
opportunity to perform for evacuees at a relocation center in Salt Lake
City.
With a two-week training camp held at high-altitude in Fort Collins, Colo., the Harlem Ambassadors prepared for their biggest and best season ever. T'Neisha "L'il T" Turner brought her smiling face to the Stars and Stripes unit, making the showplayer role her own. The Red, White, and Blue unit led by Ladè Majic headed to Japan in December for a tour of U.S. military installations. The team also began touring the United States in a diesel powered bus converted to run on clean-burning, renewable vegetable oil, rather than petroleum from foreign sources.
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