Akron, Ohio’s all-black American Legion Post No. 272 basketball team was a wartime squad that won the Akron city championship for the 1944-45 season.
Akron, Ohio’s 1940s American Legion Basketball Team Helped Fight City’s Long History of Black Under-Education
Superstar hip hop artist Ludacris has had nothin’ but love for Black Fives.
In 1930, a 6-ft. 7-in. black female basketball player was a rare sight. That is, everywhere but on the South Side of Chicago, where the Club Store Coeds, a.k.a. Chocolate Coeds played.
They were pretty. They were magnificent. They were the Chicago Roamers, a.k.a. the Roamer Girls, a great African American womens basketball team you probably never heard of until now.
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Black Fives Foundation
We inspire excellence by preserving, teaching, and honoring the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball.
Congratulations to our Education and Leadership Ambassador @kamoreaarnold for her first @ncaa Tourney appearance with @uconnwbb who she idolized as a youngster with posters on her wall. Manifestation, one moment at a time! Truly breathtaking! Best wishes KK! Make History Now! 💪🏽😤🔥
Sneak Peek! If you’re in Indianapolis for the NBA All-Star Weekend, please stop by the @ebbetsvintage pop-up shop at 50 South Meridian for the launch of our new Black Fives x Ebbets Field Flannels collection featuring the New York Rens. Open 10 AM to 10 PM. #RENS100 #makehistorynow #bhm
Limited Edition “Make History Now” Black Fives x Big East BHM Cotton Long Sleeve ![]()
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Though you aren’t a BIG EAST basketball player, you can still have this cotton long-sleeve tee version of their performance warm-up shirt.![]()
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The shirt graphic is the same. It’s the Black Fives x BIG EAST commemorative partnership logo with the Make History Now slogan on a cotton long-sleeve tee shirt to celebrate BHM2024 and honor early African-American basketball teams paired up with BIG EAST member schools.![]()
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