Two Black Fives Era birthdays this week, both merit consideration for the Basketball Hall of Fame, although one case is much stronger than the other.
Black Fives Era Birthdays This Week Present Contrasting Hall Of Fame Enshrinement Cases
Two former New York Renaissance (“Rens”) players entered the boxing ring as referees after their basketball careers ended. Frank Forbes and Zach Clayton both refereed bouts involving Cassius Clay (and Muhammad Ali).
Today is the date that the all-black New York (Harlem) Rens made history by replacing the Detroit Vagabond Kings of the previously racially segregated National Basketball League and debuting as the new Dayton Rens.
Today is the 100th anniversary of the first inter-city game between two African American basketball teams, on December 18, 1908.
On December 12, 1917, the famous 369th Colored Infantry Regiment of Harlem — known as the Harlem Hellfighters — set sail for Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey.
In the winter following his rookie year in the Major Leagues, Baseball Hall of Fame member Larry Doby became the first African American player in the American Basketball League.
During each December, celebrate the history of African American women who were pioneers in basketball!
Who knew these treasures existed? Dozens of African American basketball teams from the early 1900s, lost in the sands of time. Buried for years beneath the publicity and hype of first the N.C.A.A., then the Harlem Globetrotters, then the N.B.A. I’m using the buried treasure analogy because on this day, November 26, 1922, American archaeologist… Read more »
This week marks the 100th anniversary of the date (November 26, 1908) that President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. Branch building in Washington, D.C. In a formal ceremony involving “many prominent persons of both the white and colored races,” Roosevelt spread the first trowelful of mortar on the foundation… Read more »
The Commonwealth Big Five, an all-black basketball team, debuted on this date in 1922, becoming the first fully-professional African American basketball team.
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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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Make History Now.![]()
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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