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, 1st Indiana Mr. Basketball, dies at age 89
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.
Recently, I got this correspondence from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (A.T.F.).
Did you know that Lena Horne was the daughter of Edwin “Teddy” Horne, who played basketball for the Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn?
Perhaps the finest athlete in Johnson County history, George Crowe led Franklin High to the cusp of a state basketball championship, and was selected Indiana’s first-ever Mr. Basketball.
One hundred years ago this October, in 1910, the first all-black play-for-pay team, the New York All Stars, were formed in New York City.
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.
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.
In 1950, Cooper, a Pittsburgh resident and Duquesne University graduate became the first African-American selected in the NBA Draft.
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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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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