Reece "Goose" Tatum (May 31, 1921 – January 18, 1967) was an African American multi-sport athlete.
Born in El Dorado, Arkansas, Tatum played Negro League Baseball before becoming a star basketball player with the Harlem Globetrotters. He is considered to be the original "clown prince" of the Trotters. He wove numerous comic routines into his play, of which many would reach cult status. Some of these routines were based on his stature — it is reported that he had an arm span of about 84 in (210 cm) and could touch his kneecaps without bending.
He is credited to have invented the hook shot (a.k.a. skyhook), a shot for which later superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would become famous.
Reece Tatum died in 1967 at age 45 in El Paso, Texas. A veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he was interred in the Fort Bliss National Cemetery. Military Ceremony was done with seven gun salute.
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