January is a difficult month for friends and fans of the New York “Rens” of Harlem, the all-black pro basketball team that played in 1920s, 30s, and 40s.
Remembering A Difficult Month For ‘Rens’ Friends, Fans
I was in Manhattan last week for Converse’s celebration of the 35th anniversary of Rick Telander’s playground basketball classic, Heaven is a Playground.
Ellen Jenkins Harris, entrepreneur and daughter of New York Rens star Clarence ‘Fats’ Jenkins, joins Black Fives, Inc. as its newest Advisory Board member.
In 1950, Cooper, a Pittsburgh resident and Duquesne University graduate became the first African-American selected in the NBA Draft.
Crowe, a handsome former pro basketball and pro baseball star who looks much younger than his 88 years of age, still strikes a chord though a man of few words.
Duquesne honors Chuck Cooper, among first blacks in NBA, by staging inaugural Chuck Cooper Classic, a hoops doubleheader featuring HBCU teams. How cool is that?
This story from a Black Fives Era descendant links the distant basketball past with the funeral of New York Renaissance star John Isaacs earlier this year.
Kudos to Bill Rhoden of the New York Times for orchestrating this idea for NBA Commissioner David Stern to visit a Harlem barber shop. But, what’s the agenda?
This weekend marks the 70th anniversary of the historic date (March 28, 1939) the all-black New York Renaissance defeated the Oshkosh All Stars to win the championship title in the inaugural World Professional Basketball Tournament at the Chicago Coliseum.
Historically black colleges and universities (“HBCU’s”) were intimately involved in the history of the Black Fives Era of basketball.











