Have you ever wondered why the basket is 10 feet above the floor of a basketball court?
Why Is The Basket 10 Feet High?
This is what makes it so difficult for some Black Fives Era players to be fairly considered for comparison and recognition by the committee members responsible for selecting inductees into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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.
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 roots of the black basketball trace back to the Hemenway Gymnasium on the campus of Harvard University.
My talk at the Basketball Hall of Fame last week was a thrill. I was there as part of the Champions of Character Education Series that I previously described. The auditorium was filled to capacity with 300 students and their teachers, representing middle schools and high schools from Springfield, Hartford, and Albany. The attendees were… Read more »
This book from 1928 reminds me of just how closely basketball was linked to spirituality, right up into the Great Depression and beyond. It also makes me realize (well, at least from Fig. 6) that the term “get your swerve on” might be a lot older than we first believed. It doesn’t get more fundamental… Read more »
One unsung black sports pioneer stands out among dozens who paved the way during the Black Fives Era, and that’s a remarkable brother named Hunter Johnson.
Hmm … I think one modern day dunk from any number of current players would smash this apparatus to bits.
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.![]()
![]()
Something deeper than what’s visible on the surface.![]()
![]()
This piece, created by the Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective from remnants of our Black Fives throwback jerseys, carries that idea.![]()
![]()
On the front, you see something beautiful.![]()
On the back, you see the work.![]()
![]()
Tens of thousands of stitches.![]()
Each one holding the whole together.![]()
![]()
Like the earlier African American basketball pioneers whose names were forgotten, but whose work helped shape the game.![]()
![]()
Like the countless people, often unseen, who did and are doing the work that holds our country together.![]()
![]()
The surface only exists because of what’s behind it.![]()
![]()
And it’s only as strong as the weakest stitch.![]()
![]()
Do we really want to remove certain stitches?![]()
Are we OK with pieces falling apart?![]()
![]()
Do we value the work we don’t see?![]()
Do we recognize it?![]()
Do we protect it?![]()
![]()
That’s the real story.![]()
![]()
A cultural archive. A sports heritage platform.![]()
Build with us.![]()
![]()
Make History Now.![]()
![]()
#culturalheritage ![]()
#intellectualproperty ![]()
#archives ![]()
#sportsbusiness ![]()
#blackhistory
For years, we have been building something truly remarkable.![]()
![]()
A deep archive of early African American basketball.![]()
![]()
The stories, the images, the history that shaped the game.![]()
![]()
But this is more than an archive.![]()
![]()
It’s a cultural IP and sports heritage platform.![]()
![]()
Infrastructure of history, identity, and assets ready to build with.![]()
![]()
For partners, institutions, and brands who want real cultural authenticity, not just performative optics.![]()
![]()
Build with us.![]()
![]()
blackfives.org/build![]()
![]()
#blackhistory #culturalheritage #brandpartnerships #archives #intellectualproperty