Here’s another look at some early “basket ball” pants.
Blog
Breaking down the century-long connection between basketball and music.
Former New York Rens basketball star John Isaacs was featured in a big New York Daily News article last week by Bobby Ciafardini.
Did you know that early basketballs had laces? They had to be unlaced, pumped up, tested, and re-laced repeatedly until the air pressure of the rubber bladder inside was just right. These balls evolved to include external air pump holes, but the laces remained until the 1930s, when laceless designs were first introduced. The version… Read more »
Ever wonder where the basketball term “flush” came from? What if it came from these early bottomless basketball baskets? Antique urinal. After each made field goal, a referee had to stop play in order to pull the draw string that tipped the basket just enough for the ball to fall out. The ball would go… Read more »
Have you ever wondered why the basket is 10 feet above the floor of a basketball court?
Julius Rosenwald was born August 12, 1862 in Springfield, Illinois. “Treat people fairly and honestly and generously and their response will be fair and honest and generous.” Rosenwald was the long time president and chairman of Sears, Roebuck & Company. Starting in 1911, his matching grant philanthropic programs helped build dozens of Young Men’s Christian… Read more »
Isaac Hayes was the emperor of all these places, some real, some just a state of mind.
Ralph Bunche was born in Detroit on August 7, 1904. He would become a star basketball player, summa cum laude graduate, and class valedictorian at U.C.L.A. in the 1920s, a Nobel Prize winner in 1950, and the United Nations under-secretary general in 1968. He lectured at Howard University while working towards his doctoral degree at… Read more »
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
We inspire excellence in youth and communities by preserving, teaching, and honoring the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball.
For years, we have been building something truly remarkable.![]()
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Something deeper than what’s visible on the surface.![]()
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This piece, created by the Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective from remnants of our Black Fives throwback jerseys, carries that idea.![]()
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On the front, you see something beautiful.![]()
On the back, you see the work.![]()
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Tens of thousands of stitches.![]()
Each one holding the whole together.![]()
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Like the earlier African American basketball pioneers whose names were forgotten, but whose work helped shape the game.![]()
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Like the countless people, often unseen, who did and are doing the work that holds our country together.![]()
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The surface only exists because of what’s behind it.![]()
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And it’s only as strong as the weakest stitch.![]()
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Do we really want to remove certain stitches?![]()
Are we OK with pieces falling apart?![]()
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Do we value the work we don’t see?![]()
Do we recognize it?![]()
Do we protect it?![]()
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That’s the real story.![]()
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A cultural archive. A sports heritage platform.![]()
Build with us.![]()
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Make History Now.![]()
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#culturalheritage ![]()
#intellectualproperty ![]()
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#sportsbusiness ![]()
#blackhistory
For years, we have been building something truly remarkable.![]()
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A deep archive of early African American basketball.![]()
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The stories, the images, the history that shaped the game.![]()
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But this is more than an archive.![]()
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It’s a cultural IP and sports heritage platform.![]()
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Infrastructure of history, identity, and assets ready to build with.![]()
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For partners, institutions, and brands who want real cultural authenticity, not just performative optics.![]()
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Build with us.![]()
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blackfives.org/build![]()
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#blackhistory #culturalheritage #brandpartnerships #archives #intellectualproperty