George Crowe, the last surviving member of the New York Rens all-black pro basketball team, would have been 90 years old today. He died earlier this year.
George Crowe, Last Rens Player, Would Have Been 90 Today
Sacramento Bee: George Crowe, an elite athlete who broke racial barriers in basketball and baseball, died quietly in Rancho Cordova last week after living a remarkable life as a mid-20th century pioneer.
Indy Star: George Crowe’s place in history was cemented when he won the first Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball honor while playing for Franklin High School in 1939.
Crowe, a 1943 graduate of Indiana Central, was a three-sport star for the Greyhounds in basketball, baseball and track. Known as a great scorer and rebounder on the hardwood, Crowe was an all-state player in 1941 when the cagers finished ninth in the country.
George Crowe had been the last living member of the New York Renaissance (a.k.a. “Rens”) professional all-black basketball team. He was 89 years old.
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.
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.
We send Happy Birthday remembrances to former pro basketball star John Isaacs, who was born September 30, 1915. The day we showed him our ‘Rens’ throwback jersey is a fond memory now.
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.
In 1961, during a summer job in Vienna, Austria, my father took pivotal advice from Father Theodore Hesburgh, now President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.
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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.![]()
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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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