The biggest losers of all time are making a comeback.

The Washington Generals, who lost more than 17,000 games and last beat their foes the Harlem Globetrotters in 1971, have been purchased by Herschend Enterprises, sources said.

The Washington Generals, who lost more than 17,000 games, last beat the Harlem Globetrotters in 1971. Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

Herschend portfolio includes ownership of the Globetrotters as well as theme and water parks.

Sources said the Generals will be put into rotation to play the Globetrotters again as early as this summer and will take on a greater life than before as the lovable losers. A website, a twitter handle and even a line of merchandise are in the works.

The Generals are owned by the family of Red Klotz, who played for the team and coached them throughout their 63 years as the Globetrotters' opponents.

In the summer of 2015, the family of Klotz, who died in 2014, was told by the Globetrotters that they would no longer play them. The company came up with new opponents, the World All-Stars, to take their place.

The initial reaction to ditching the Generals was strong, which eventually led Herschend to make a deal with the Klotz family to buy them.

The Washington Generals, often made up of journeymen holding on to their basketball careers, did win three times in their history. They beat a Taiwanese National Team and a team from the Russian Army. The most famous win of all was in Martin, Tennessee, in 1971, when Red Klotz himself hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Globetrotters 100-99.

Said Klotz at the time: "Beating the Globetrotters is like shooting Santa Claus."