The Basketball Hall of Fame has elected Black Fives Era pioneer Zack Clayton for enshrinement in its Class of 2017!
Zack Clayton Elected to Basketball Hall of Fame!
WATCH: The dedication of John “Boy Wonder” Isaacs Way, a portion of Hoe Avenue in the Bronx renamed after the basketball pioneer and community legend.
We’re glad to report that former New York Rens and Washington Bears player John “Boy Wonder” Isaacs has been elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame!
Part 3 of a multi-part series on George Crowe, the last living New York (Harlem) Rens player, covers his stellar collegiate career and military experiences.
The Rochester Royals won the 1945-46 National Basketball League Championship in their first season with the league. The following year the Royals defended their title, with a new player named William “Dolly” King, the team’s first African American player.
This article by Sonja Steptoe is from the Sports Illustrated archives (the “SI Vault”), and originally appeared in print in the magazine’s December 24, 1990 issue. We felt it would be appropriate to re-publish the article here now, in honor of John “Boy Wonder” Isaacs, the former basketball star with the New York Rens (of Harlem) who passed away Monday morning at the age of 93. It’s easy to see why Mr. Isaacs was such a hero and friend to so many.
When SLAM asked me to write something about 93-year-old former professional basketball player John Isaacs, I wanted to go beyond what’s been told (and retold) before. I wanted to tell what matters most.
In 1943 the Washington Bears, an all-black basketball team, went 41-0 while winning the World Professional Basketball Tournament, the nation’s highest basketball title.