Did you know that early basketballs had laces? They had to be unlaced, pumped up, tested, and re-laced repeatedly until the air pressure of the rubber bladder inside was just right. These balls evolved to include external air pump holes, but the laces remained until the 1930s, when laceless designs were first introduced. The version… Read more »
Early Laced Basketballs
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Unseen Stitches: The Black Fives x Gee’s Bend Masterpiece QuiltNovember 1, 2026The Black Fives x Gee’s Bend Masterpiece Quilt, created by the Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective from Black Fives throwback basketball jersey remnants, brings together two extraordinary African American cultural traditions. Its more than 68,000 stitches reveal a powerful metaphor for the often unseen contributions that hold families, communities, and American history together. […]
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One of the over 150 historical items from the Black Fives Era of basketball that was in the Black Fives exhibition at the New York Historical Society Museum from March–July 2014. (Black Fives Archives)
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