July 27 is the birthday of Ferdinand J. Accooe, one of the original members of the Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn.
Basketball Pioneer Ferdinand Accooe’s Birthday, In 1889
The Smart Set Athletic Club used the old 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn, now breathtakingly renovated, as its home court for basketball during the 1910s.
I’ve always wanted a seersucker suit ever since Dad gave me my grandfather’s seersucker when I graduated from college.
The New York All Stars were the first African American basketball team to play the sport for financial gain.
Like the phonograph, the blog is leading to a new Black Renaissance that is redefining who we think we are in music, fashion, literature, the arts, and of course, in sports.
December is reserved for honoring the history of female Black Fives Era basketball teams like the New York Girls and many others.
In 1974, when Grandpa was inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame in New York, in it’s inaugural class alongside the likes of Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Joe Louis, and Bill Russell, I was so proud beyond compare.
4,300
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 ![]()
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#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