During the 1910s, a Lower East Side basketball coach brought Jewish Americans and African Americans together in the sport for the first time. Who was he? What did he do? Was he Jewish?
The Original Nexus of Blacks and Jews in Basketball (Parts 6-7 of 9)
The NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996. The problem is that it didn’t exist until 1950 when the BAA merged with the NBL. This new book clears that up.
William “Dolly” King, the 6-foot 4-inch, 220-lb. star center and captain of the undefeated LIU Blackbirds, left his team mid-season to join the all-black New York Rens.
I sat down with MSG Network for an interview in their documentary about the close relationship between NBA pioneers Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Joe Lapchick.
These the term ‘sidebar’ is used often in connection with blogging and online advertising, but actually it is an old newspaper term that’s been around for a long time.
In 1920, Chris Huiswoud became the first basketball referee of African descent to be formally sanctioned (allowed) by the AAU.
Top of the list among all possible pre-NBA players for enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame, is Black Fives Era superstar Clarence ‘Fats’ Jenkins.
In 1922 the white-owned all-black Commonwealth Big Five basketball team made its debut in Harlem. The “Commons” were the first fully professional African American basketball team.
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 ![]()
#intellectualproperty ![]()
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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