In addition to being banned for life, Donald Sterling also should be forced to visit the Black Fives exhibition now at the New-York Historical Society, which reveals that blacks and whites have been working together in basketball for a very, very long time.
11 Major Black-White Basketball Collaborations Prior to NBA
The Commonwealth Big Five, an all-black basketball team, debuted on this date in 1922, becoming the first fully-professional African American basketball team.
Today we celebrate Paul Robeson’s birthday. Robeson was born on April 9, 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey.
Today in 1924, the first game between two fully-professional African American basketball teams was played, at the Renaissance Casino in Harlem.
In 1922 the white-owned all-black Commonwealth Big Five basketball team made its debut in Harlem. The “Commons” were the first fully professional African American basketball team.