Larry Rivers

Larry Darnell Rivers (May 6, 1949 – April 29, 2023), also known as Gator Rivers, was an American basketball player, coach, business owner, and civil servant. He performed as a dribbler for the Harlem Globetrotters from 1973 to 1986, eventually taking over the main dribbler role from Curly Neal. As player-coach during his last year with the Globetrotters, he led the team's nationwide search for their first female player.

After stints with two other exhibition basketball teams, Rivers moved back to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he had attended college, and started the Gatorball Academy, teaching basketball skills to children. In 2008, he moved to his native Savannah, Georgia, where he had led the Beach High School basketball team to three state titles. In 2020, he was elected to the Chatham County Commission in Chatham County, Georgia and served in the District 2 seat from 2021 until his death.

Early life Rivers was born in Savannah, Georgia, on May 6, 1949, when his mother was 13 years old. He first saw The Harlem Globetrotters film at the age of seven

Education and early basketball career In 1967, during his sophomore year at Beach High School, Rivers was part of the first all-black team to win a Georgia High School Association championship in any sport; it was the GHSA's first season of desegregation. Playing under Ellington, Rivers went on to lead the Beach High School basketball team to three state titles. In his senior year, he averaged 17 points and 9 assists per game. During the 1971–1972 season, he averaged 14.6 points per game. In his final season, he averaged 16.4 points per game, and set school records for the most points (429) and most assists (181) in a single season.

In 1973, the St. Joseph Gazette called Rivers "the most talented ballhandler to ever wear a Missouri Western uniform". Rivers later said that he chose the school, despite the snow and ice, in part because the Midwest promoter for the Harlem Globetrotters lived in St. Joseph, Missouri. while Tex Harrison later recalled that Rivers "was doing things it takes other players four or five years to be accomplished at." That year, the Harlem Globetrotters became the first sports team to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Rivers partnered with a Burger King franchise to create the "Burger King / Gator Rivers Basketball Scholarship" at Missouri Western.

In 1985, Rivers started his first year as a player-coach with the Globetrotters, However, in 1986, Rivers left the Globetrotters, citing his disillusionment with their direction under new management. One of his frustrations was that while he had been searching for a highly skilled female player who could play with the male players and be respected, Globetrotter management instead went with a player they had in mind from the start, who had publicly stated that she would not have been able to "make it" in the NBA. Rivers and the team were invited to the White House, where they announced the start of their 1986 Commitment With a Purpose Tour and their support of First Lady Nancy Reagan's campaign encouraging children to "Just Say No" to drugs.

Basketball Magic By January 1987, Rivers had signed with a new team called Basketball Magic, along with six other former Harlem Globetrotters, Louis "Sweet Lou" Dunbar, Jimmy Blacklock, Ovie Dotson, Osborne Lockhart, Billy Ray Hobbley, and Robert "Baby Face" Page. The team had formed after several players from the 1985–1986 Harlem Globetrotters starting lineup were unable to agree on a new contract with management. In 1995, he became head coach at Troy High School across the Missouri River in Kansas where his stepdaughter played basketball.

Community involvement and political career In 1999, Rivers was inducted into the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame, He continued to run Gatorball Academy training sessions to teach basketball skills to young players and led a campaign to rebuild and improve outdoor basketball courts in neighborhoods across Savannah, such as the one at Crawford Court. He also volunteered with the Frank Callen Boys and Girls Club.

In 2020, Rivers ran as a Republican for Chatham County Commission District 2 in Georgia and was declared the technical winner after Democratic candidate Tony Riley was disqualified due to a past felony conviction.During campaigning, Rivers claimed that he was running as a Republican to avoid having to run in the Democratic primary. He expressed interest in bringing a professional basketball team, as well as soccer and hockey teams, to Savannah to help boost the local economy. According to Chatham County Commission chairman Chester A. Ellis, "As a Commissioner, his passion was ensuring that residents have food security and improving quality of life."

On May 12, the Chatham County Commission appointed his wife Jean Brown Rivers to fill his seat until a special election could be held on September 19. Malinda Hodge, a former member of the County Board of Elections, was elected to finish his term in a runoff election on October 17.