New York Incorporators
Location: Harlem, New York City
Home Court: Manhattan Casino
Nickname: Inc.’s, Red and Black Machine
Colors: Varsity Red, Black, White
Manager: Will Anthony Madden
Formed: 1915
The New York Incorporators were a Harlem-based African-American basketball team that was organized in 1915 by the pioneering owner, promoter, and manager Will Anthony Madden.
Madden formed the squad by taking most of the top talent from his prior team, the St. Christopher Club, where he had been the manager.
The Incorporators quickly succeeded, winning the 1915-16 Colored Basketball World’s Championship and reaching national prominence.
Madden’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit as team owner and manager were the major reasons for the Inc.’s success as a team.
He introduced to Black basketball the hiring of expert coaches (proficient at “scientific basketball”), inter-city rivalries, team nicknames, in-arena giveaways, marketing via widespread editorial coverage, stylish uniforms, an annual All-American list for top African American players, an annual black All-Star team, lengthy road trips that inspired the concept later known as barnstorming, compensation for players, and articles of incorporation for basketball teams to be run as businesses.
Madden’s diminutive stature and authoritative style earned him the nickname “Little Napoleon.” His enduring legacy still informs not only basketball but all of sports today.
One of basketball history’s most influential teams, the Incorporators along with Madden are featured on the cover of the book, The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball’s Forgotten Era, and are covered in detail in its contents.
For more information about the New York Incorporators here, please see our exhibition, Will Anthony Madden’s Basketball Legacy, in the Black Fives Online Museum.
New York Incorporators™ is a trademark of the Black Fives Foundation. All rights reserved.
