This book from 1928 reminds me of just how closely basketball was linked to spirituality, right up into the Great Depression and beyond. It also makes me realize (well, at least from Fig. 6) that the term “get your swerve on” might be a lot older than we first believed. It doesn’t get more fundamental… Read more »
Vintage Swerve From The Antique Playbook
One unsung black sports pioneer stands out among dozens who paved the way during the Black Fives Era, and that’s a remarkable brother named Hunter Johnson.
The thing about free throws is you better make ’em … so here are a couple of points: Wilmeth Sidat-Singh. From the looks of it, I’ll be writing a regular Black Fives article for Bounce Magazine starting with their July 2008 issue. They have issues in March, June, July, September, November. It’ll be a real… Read more »
Next week is the 36th annual Black Invitational Basketball Tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia, starting May 14. By far, this is the most amazing basketball tournament you’ve ever never heard of. Yet. It’s run by the Provincial Black Basketball Association — the most amazing basketball organization you’ve never heard of … yet. How do I… Read more »
Hmm … I think one modern day dunk from any number of current players would smash this apparatus to bits.
A brief shout out to the Stentonworth Athletic Club of 1911, one of the first African American basketball teams in Philadelphia. The team featured Frank Forbes, a graduate of Southern Manual Training High School (which became South Philadelphia High School in 1915) where he was a dominating all-around athlete. “Of the school and club men,… Read more »
In April, 1912 the Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. of Washington, D.C. opened. Here’s some more about this landmark building in Part II of a series.
One of the most beautiful vintage gymnasiums on the planet is at the old Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. in Washington, D.C.
My niece in D.C. gave me this idea for displaying the Converse Black Fives Century Pack: That’s an actual antique wooden Converse shoe crate at the bottom, and a vintage laced leather basketball nestled cozy in between. How have you put yours up?
A ticket stub from a historically important 1937 game between the New York Rens and the Oshkosh All Stars.
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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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