Cheese Chisholm: A smile that lights up a room
Then-Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, center and, from left, Hammer Harrison, Handles Franklin, Paul 'Tiny' Sturgess, TNT Maddox and Cheese Chisholm of the Harlem Globetrotters pose after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge using pink basketballs to show their support for National Breast Cancer Awareness on Oct. 3, 2012. Photo by Bryan Bedder/Invision for Harlem Globetrotters/AP Images
He was not an All American — and he proudly admits it.
Yet, he captained his collegiate basketball team.
“I sacrificed for the role of the team,” Cheese Chisholm told the Brooklyn Eagle. “I played point guard and was not the shooter.”
Chisholm — his real first name is Brawley — played basketball at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
And, for the last 13 years. Chisholm has been a member of the Harlem Globetrotters. That is quite a trip from P.S. 237 in Brownsville.
“It’s been a journey,” says the man with the smile that lights up a room. “There was two years at a junior college in Texas before entering Ball State.”
High school in New York for Chisholm consisted of one day at De Witt Clinton in The Bronx. “My mom pulled me after that day,” he remembered. “It was a small school in Mississippi after that.”
It was basketball that remained the common thread throughout the journey. His touring the country attending school prepped him for his life with the Trotters.
But when he graduated Ball State with a degree in communications, well, he thought basketball might be a thing of the past.
“I sent my tapes and resume overseas,” he said, “No luck. And I knew I had no chance with the NBA.”
But then, fate intervened in the persons of the Globetrotters.
“I asked a local basketball scout about trying out for the Trotters,” he said, “And was told the tryouts were the very next day.
“If anything,” he says, “besides my basketball skills, I have personality.” The Globies thought the same, and he’s been a member since 2011.
“I’ve had only two jobs my entire life,” said Chisholm, who was married last November. “A water boy for Basketball Nike Pro City at Hunter College, and playing for the Globetrotters.”
And, for the first time in the history of sports, the Harlem Globetrotters will embark on a 10-day residence at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, N.J. Live games will be played, with fan engagements, kids’ skill clinics, exclusive merchandise, and unique programs designed to celebrate the culture, history, and fun of the world-renowned franchise, starting on Aug. 16.
The American Dream residency extends through Aug. 25, and throughout the stay the Trotters will battle legendary rival – the Washington Generals.
Perhaps, it was also a chance to return closer to home, Chisholm credits his employment with the Globetrotters as his “dessert.”
The pride and joy of his life, he explains, is that my parents did not have to pay for his college education. “The basketball,” he said, “Is truly the dessert.
“I play with some of the greatest athletes in the world,” he said. “My teammates average 10 dunks a game. That is something we do every game.”
Chisholm holds two Guinness World Records: The most three-point goals in-a-minute, set in 2016; and the most three-pointers by a pair in a minute (with Ant Atkinson), also set in 2016.
As a Ball State senior, the 6-foot-2 Chisolm started just two games — against Butler and Eastern Michigan. He averaged 18 minutes off the bench; and finished sixth on the team in scoring at 4.5 points per game.
Today, the kid who grew up in Brooklyn’s Ocean Hill Projects plays for the Harlem Globetrotters.
“There’s always a positive solution; stay persistent, it’ll be bright on the other side,” he said.
It was, and it is.
Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR
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