The NBA incorrectly insists it was formed in 1949 when it was actually 1946.
Historical Facts Don’t Support 2021 As NBA’s 75th Anniversary
How does a ticket to a 1941 basketball doubleheader link Ohio, the tire industry, burgers, the Star of David, Harlem, FDR, Nike, the UN, and Norman Rockwell?
We are thankful for a generous gift that allowed us to acquire a collection of rare early African American artifacts for our Black Fives Foundation Archives.
This week’s artifact is a special book by a beloved athlete, activist, and scholar. (Hint: There’s a stadium named after him.)
A vintage pair of 1930s basketball kneepads.
LISTEN: Our latest updates for Black History Month on ESPN Radio New York 98.7 FM with host Bill Daughtry.
The new ‘Make History Now’ video by ’47 brought to you by SLAM with Chicago Bulls star Taj Gibson, visual artist Swopes, rapper Lil Bibby, and some of Chicago’s best young ballers.
This new repository allows more room to expand the size of our archive and provides many fundamentally important capabilities that were previously missing.
Akron, Ohio’s all-black American Legion Post No. 272 basketball team was a wartime squad that won the Akron city championship for the 1944-45 season.
Part 2 of my two-part article on John ‘Boy Wonder’ Isaacs, originally published in the 2015 Enshrinement Weekend Yearbook of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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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 ![]()
#archives ![]()
#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