My two-part article on John ‘Boy Wonder’ Isaacs, originally published in the 2015 Enshrinement Weekend Yearbook of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Life and Times of John Isaacs, Basketball’s ‘Boy Wonder’, Part 1
Styles from the Black Fives Collection are more than just tees, caps, and jackets. They’re stories waiting to be told … by the young as well as the old.
The Black Fives Foundation is expanding and reinforcing its mission and goals with solid momentum from strategic partnerships and its first grant.
Donate $25 or more and get a special limited edition pennant by ’47 to celebrate the enshrinement of John “Boy Wonder” Isaacs into the Basketball Hall of Fame!
WATCH: The dedication of John “Boy Wonder” Isaacs Way, a portion of Hoe Avenue in the Bronx renamed after the basketball pioneer and community legend.
In its first enshrinement class, the newly created Franklin (Indiana) High School Alumni Hall of Fame will induct basketball pioneer George Crowe tomorrow.
Images from some of our recent school visits, where we are presenting the local history of the Black Fives Era of basketball in partnership with the Brooklyn Nets as a part of their Nets Assist educational programming.
The Black Fives Foundation teams up with the Brooklyn Nets to conduct a series of school educational presentations on local African American basketball history.
Today is #GivingTuesday and we’re sharing some exceptional programs and goals planned for 2015! But they can’t happen without your help. Please give today. Thank you.
Grinding it out, one possession at a time, and in only our second year, we’ve achieved some amazing successes considering our size and the newness of our genre!
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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