A rare promotional medallion from 1915 that is the earliest known in-arena give-way in basketball.
Artifact of the Week (2): Medallion
Efforts to save the Harlem’s historic Renaissance Ballroom, a cultural shrine, have failed. It was demolished by its new owners. Here is how this happened.
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?
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.
It was an honor to be recognized at Rucker Park for my work with the Black Fives, along with Nate Archibald, Emmette Bryant, Dean Meminger, and Earl Monroe.
For fans like me, the amazing basketball events of last week — beautifully staged by Nike and the Basketball Hall of Fame, from Harlem to Springfield and back — might as well have been called the “World Basketball Orgy.”
An early Sunday morning bicycle ride through Harlem leads to sacredness, grace, astonishment, acknowledgment, gratitude, and smiles.
The game was canceled as the result of strife between the Incorporators — a semi-pro team — and a local fundamentalist faction that advocated strictly amateur ideals and was against pay-for-play basketball.
On December 12, 1917, the famous 369th Colored Infantry Regiment of Harlem — known as the Harlem Hellfighters — set sail for Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey.
In 1916 the price for a room at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City was $2.00 to $3.00 per night. How did that compare to the average wages of Negroes back then?
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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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