“The Ambassador of Baseball” to Receive Award from the Ambassadors of Goodwill on Feb. 14 at STAPLES Center
(PHOENIX, Feb. 8, 2010) —Two of the sports world’s most beloved ambassadors—legendary L.A. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda and the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters—will come together on Sunday, Feb. 14 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, when the Globetrotters honor the baseball Hall of Famer with a special award for his lifetime ambassadorial contributions that embody the Globetrotters spirit of goodwill. The presentation will take place prior to the team’s 1 p.m. show at Staples Center.
In much the same way that the Globetrotters helped introduce the sport of basketball throughout the world in bringing their showmanship to 120 countries on six continents during their history, Lasorda has played a similar, instrumental role in growing the sport of baseball overseas.
Long acknowledged as “the ambassador of baseball,” Lasorda has traveled overseas to help introduce the sport around the world since 1965. In 2008, the government of Japan presented Lasorda with their prestigious Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette medal for promoting friendship between Japan and the United States through baseball.
Ironically, Lasorda was born in 1927, the same year the Harlem Globetrotters played their first-ever road game in Hinckley, Ill., on Jan. 7, 1927. Like the Globetrotters, Lasorda’s accomplishments, both on and off the field, are enormous. On the diamond, the Dodgers won two world championships, four National League pennants and eight division titles under Lasorda’s direction. At the age of 73, Lasorda piloted the U.S Olympic Baseball Team to the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Lasorda recently visited U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to motivate and inspire the men and women of the Armed Forces. Similarly, the Globetrotters visited Iraq this past December as part of their 7th annual Holiday Military Overseas Tour. Lasorda still serves as the Dodgers’ Special Advisor to the Chairman, acting as an advisor and ambassador at more than 100 appearances to various charities and military personnel each year.
The Globetrotters have five games in the Southland area, taking the court Saturday, Feb. 13 for 1:00pm and 7:00pm games at the Honda Center in Anaheim; Sunday, Feb. 14 for 1:00pm and 6:00pm games at STAPLES Center; and Monday, Feb. 15, for a 1:00pm game at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.
Sponsored by Campbell Soup Company, Spalding, Howard Johnson and America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses, the Original Harlem Globetrotters are in their 84th consecutive season of touring the world.
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