Malinda Steele and her daughter Autumn holding up priceless family album photos.

Back in December, I received an email from my childhood next door neighbor Malinda Steele that read, “Bob, I just watched your youtube basketball highlights . . . did you know that my uncle was one of the original Harlem Globetrotters?” Huh?!!!

Malinda and I grew up together on 120 West 97th St. in Manhattan. My family lived in #13I, her and her moms lived in #13J. She quite possibly was the first friend I ever had, dating back to 1970 when we were four years of age. We both appeared in the intro of an early Sesame Street TV episode, both had parents who loved the piano, but almost 40 years later I’m finding out both of our families shared a love for basketball? I was intrigued and invited her to stop by my crib while she was in town with her daughter Autumn visiting her moms for holidays.

“My uncle Bob Dowery ran with the Globetrotter for years,” Malinda shared with me while paging through a decades-old photo album, “and my grandfather ‘Horse’ Steele was a teammate of ‘Pop’ Gates!” Read More »