Historically black colleges and universities (“HBCU’s”) were intimately involved in the history of the Black Fives Era of basketball.
HBCU Teams Were Intimately Involved In Early Black Basketball History
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.
On October 13, 1910, history was made when Major A. Hart formed the first all-black play-for-pay basketball team, a new squad called the New York All Stars.
The St. Christopher Club, which had arguably the most successful non-professional basketball team of the Black Fives Era, got its start in 1896 as a bible study group to help keep young African American males off the seedy streets of what is now midtown Manhattan.
Today we celebrate Paul Robeson’s birthday. Robeson was born on April 9, 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey.
On February 22, 1922, the St. Christopher Club defeated visiting Morehouse College, 31-25, snapping the Southern Conference champions’ 42-game winning streak.
The New York All Stars were the first African American basketball team to play the sport for financial gain.
In the early 1900s, the Christian origins of basketball (in the YMCA) spawned an unwritten rule: playing the game was forbidden during Lent.
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.
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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.![]()
Build with us.![]()
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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