Did you know that there were many non-playing pioneers of the Black Fives Era who made important contributions to the growth and evolution of basketball among African Americans?
Non-Playing Pioneers of the Black Fives Era
During the 1910s, a Lower East Side basketball coach brought Jewish Americans and African Americans together in the sport for the first time. Who was he? What did he do? Was he Jewish?
During the 1910s, a Lower East Side basketball coach brought Jewish Americans and African Americans together in the sport for the first time. Who was he? What did he do? Was he Jewish?
Since the motto of the 2012 Olympic Games is “Inspire A Generation,” it’s appropriate to reserve some U.S.A. shout outs for early African American athletic club pioneers who, generations ago, helped make today’s successes possible.
Jay-Z’s co-ownership of the Brooklyn Nets reminds us of the Smart Set Athletic Club — America’s first all-black basketball team — whose players lived in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section where he grew up.
Though news coverage of the NBA’s upcoming racial integration was limited, there was enough to get a glimpse of what the milestone meant at the time.
On May 30, 1906, the Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association of Middle Atlantic States (I.S.A.A.) took root with its first event, a track meet, at Howard University.