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Bask-O-Lite: Basketball's Great Innovation

Hmm … I think one modern day dunk from any number of current players would smash this apparatus to bits.

Stentonworth Athletic Club, 1911

A brief shout out to the Stentonworth Athletic Club of 1911, one of the first African American basketball teams in Philadelphia. The team featured Frank Forbes, a graduate of Southern Manual Training High School (which became South Philadelphia High School in 1915) where he was a dominating all-around athlete. “Of the school and club men,… Read more »

You Gotta Make Some Beauty … Part II

Continuing the thought from my blog post on Friday: Can you name some reasons why this is a beautiful sight? “Yes, your majesty.” “What beautiful locks you have, your majesty.” I decided to put down as many of my own reasons that I could think of: Any basketball hoop is a beautiful sight to a… Read more »

And If There Ain't No Beauty, You Gotta Make Some Beauty! (Have Mercy, Listen To Me Now!)

Do you take the time to see the beauty in all things? I learned that from the very first album I ever bought, That’s The Way Of The World, the Earth, Wind & Fire masterpiece. I bought it at a Woolworth’s in 1974 when I was a freshman in high school. On that album, there… Read more »

My Bookshelf Exposed

Here’s a section of my bookshelf. What’s on your shelf? Got any favorites?

Claude Johnson To Speak At Basketball Hall Of Fame, May 7

On May 7, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., I’ll be the featured guest speaker at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for their MVP’s of Character Education Series. Here’s what their website says about this program: The goal of this program is to offer teachers and students an opportunity to explore the relationship between healthy… Read more »

Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. Of Washington, D.C., Part II

In April, 1912 the Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. of Washington, D.C. opened. Here’s some more about this landmark building in Part II of a series.

Black Fives, Now In Utah?

Hey, why not? In a feature length article that appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune over the weekend, Black Fives got a nice mention. Derron Williams, Utah Jazz. That’s cool, because the Tribune is the largest newspaper in Utah. And it shows how far a good syndicated article can go if it has legs. So,… Read more »

Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. Of Washington, D.C., Part I

One of the most beautiful vintage gymnasiums on the planet is at the old Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. in Washington, D.C.

A Century Pack Free Throw

My niece in D.C. gave me this idea for displaying the Converse Black Fives Century Pack: That’s an actual antique wooden Converse shoe crate at the bottom, and a vintage laced leather basketball nestled cozy in between. How have you put yours up?

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