Everett ‘Ziggy’ Marcell


“Marcell was quite a guy, he taught us all the Globetrotter tricks and he was a heck of a guard too.”
–Irv Noren, 1945 California Junior College Player of the Year

Ziggy Marcell

Everett “Ziggy” Marcell.

Teams: Harlem Globetrotters, Los Angeles Red Devils, Hollywood All Stars, Iowa Colored Ghosts
Home: Los Angeles
Born: 1916
Died: 1990

Everett “Ziggy” Marcell was born September 1, 1916 in New Orleans. He was a 6′-3″, 185 lbs. guard and forward.

After attending Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. where he starred as a ball handling wizard, Marcell signed a professional contract with the Harlem Globetrotters.

In 1946, he joined the Los Angeles Red Devils pro basketball team, playing as a forward alongside Jackie Robinson. “Marcell was quite a guy, he taught us all the Globetrotter tricks and he was a heck of a guard too,” said Irv Noren, a teammate of Ziggy’s on the Red Devils, in a Los Angeles Times interview in 2004.

Later he played with the Hollywood All Stars and the Iowa Colored Ghosts.

After retiring from full-time professional basketball, Marcell organized and managed some LA-area semi-pro clubs including the Sigmas, 7-Up Redlegs, and Vagabonds. Marcell was ingrained into the Los Angeles basketball scene and reportedly worked in the Los Angeles Lakers’ equipment room in 1960.

Marcell was the son of baseball great Oliver Marcelle, and like his father also played pro baseball in the Negro Leagues as an outfielder and catcher with the Kansas City Monarchs, Satchel Paige’s All-Stars, the Homestead Grays, the New York Black Yankees, Chicago American Giants, Baltimore Elite Giants, and Newark Eagles.

He also played pro football as an end with the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League in 1944 along with Jackie .