Tricksters in the Madhouse" is the story of the pivotal meeting between the all-white Minneapolis Lakers, favored to win the World Professional Basketball Tournament, and the Harlem Globetrotters, at the center of black basketball and riding their own incredible 103-game winning streak. When these two powerhouses met for the first time—, on February 19, 1948, before an audience of eighteen thousand in Chicago Stadium—, basketball fans everywhere were in for an eye-opening performance. The game would encapsulate the growing racial tensions of the era, particularly the struggle of black Americans to gain legitimacy in the segregated world of sports. Through in-depth interviews and extensive research, John Christgau brings this critical matchup to life and reveals how, even as it enacted the racial inequities of the time, this crucial game represented an important step toward equality.