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.
St. Christopher Club Formed, 1896
The newly renovated Park Slope Armory (a.k.a. 14th Regiment Armory) in Brooklyn is so magnificent that people wanted to see more historical images of the old spot.
Brandon Jennings has made history. Now. Jennings’ move reminds us of Dolly King in ’41. He’s the #1 ranked high school basketball player who could have played in the N.B.A. if it weren’t for the league’s artificial age limit. He’s the Dominguez High School and Oak Hill Academy product from Compton, Ca., who could have… Read more »
The site of the former home of Smart Set Athletic Club founding father Edwin F. Horne, grandfather of Lena Horne, is now a playground in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn.
The historic 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn: photographs of the interior of the drill hall.
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.
The very first indoor tennis match involving African Americans took place at a tennis-basketball doubleheader in Harlem in 1914.
Winning on the road is a blessing. But did you know it’s a mandate from Holy Scripture? Seriously. In so many words.
On May 30, 1906, the Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association of Middle Atlantic States (I.S.A.A.) took root with its first event, a track meet, at Howard University.
Here’s a shout out to the courageous men of Company E, 372nd Colored Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division.
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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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#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