Black Fives: The Story of Integration in Pro Basketball

[G.O.A.T]

Going to post this in five parts.

I hope you all enjoy and learn something and feel free and encouraged to participate in the conversation...

Thanks!

PART ONE:

The greatest stain on the record of the BAA/NBA in its early years is the lack of urgency and forward thinking in terms of handling segregation. The NBA finally broke its color barrier in 1950 when Boston selected Chuck Cooper from Duquesne in the second round of the college draft. Six rounds later Washington selected Earl Lloyd who would become the first black player to play in a NBA game. Before either had signed with their team, the Knicks had lured Sweetwater Clifton from the Harlem Globetrotters and signed him to a contract. It was the second year of operations as the NBA and fifth overall when you include the BAA history. There was never a policy against signing or drafting black players, but the indifference to the issue that characterized the leagues owners was common amongst White America at that time. It was not as if they didn’t like black people, or that they didn’t want them in their league. It was simply that they did not want to take the criticism and answer the questions that would come once they did integrate. Prior to Clifton, Cooper and Lloyd, Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947. Before that though, there were a number of professional basketball players who were black or African-American, including Robinson himself who suited up professionally for the Los Angeles Red Devils in the 1946-47 season, before he ever played Major League Baseball. The Red Devils were one of the few racially integrated teams of that era. At the same time Lester Harrison had signed Dolly King and Pops Gates, formerly of the All-Black New York Rens, to his Rochester Royals team in 1946 while still playing in the NBL. Before the season started Buffalo Bison (later Tri-City Blackhawks) owner Ben Kerner agreed to share the criticism by having Gates play for his team. Later that season the Detroit Gems signed Willie King and the Youngstown Bears signed Bill Farrow. The four players signing as well as Robinson’s pursuits received little attention, perhaps because it was a minor league in many people’s eyes sure, but also perhaps because the Toledo Jim White Chevrolets and Chicago Studebaker Flyers had suited up black players during World War II also in the NBL. (Though none were ever under professional contract) A number of former Harlem Globetrotters, ten players in total, Casey Jones, Bill Jones, Al Price, Shannie Barnett, Duke Cumberland, Sonny Boswell, Tony Peyton, Bernie Price, Rosie Hutson and Hilary Brown, took the court. But well past their prime, they struggled on and off the court, Toledo disbanded after losing their first four games and Chicago finished 8-15 in last place and lost to Fort Wayne in the first round of the playoffs.


http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/2010/news/features/steve_aschburner/01/18/mlk.sweetwater/sweetwater.jpg

These players were pioneers yes, some of the first players to play pro basketball on integrated pro teams in the United States, but they were far from the first black pro ball players. Black Pro Basketball players date back almost as far as their white counterparts. In fact as early as 1902 “Black Fives”, as all-black basketball teams of that era were known, began to organize in churches, social clubs and YMCA’s all over the country. Officially the first established team was the Brooklyn Smart Set Club which formed in 1905, even then integration was an issue commonly being broached but never sufficiently addressed. Right around the time the first Black Fives were being organized, Bucky Lew played in the all-white New England League and Frank Wilson integrated the Mohawk Valley League. From 1911 to 1917, the Eastern Pro League (a forerunner of the ABL) had a number of black player’s suit up for various teams. So while there were a lot of progressive attitudes about race mixed in around pro basketball, there was never a viable league where black players could get on an equal playing field with whites. As Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put it in his book ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ “If Black players wanted to play pro basketball, they’d need to create their own teams and their own leagues.” That’s exactly what they did.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/2702195423_38b66e3ed6.jpg

The man many credit with bringing basketball to the Black community was Edwin Henderson, the first Black man to teach Physical Education in an American School and founder of the first all-black league the Interscholastic Athletic Association (ISAA). Henderson believed strongly that athletic competition had the ability to move America toward racial equality faster than most any other method. As he stated “Fairness creeps out of the soul in the athletic world to a larger extent than anywhere else in the world.” His belief was that athletic competition would allow more black men and women to attend respected Universities and dispel negative stereotypes about race within America. Henderson had first been introduced to basketball while at Harvard in 1904 for a Physical training convention. He took the game back to Washington DC and began teaching it to children and young adults in the area, it was the first time the sport was widely introduced to black Americans. The game quickly expanded and became popular on the East Coast in particular in DC and New York City. In 1907 the Brooklyn Marathon Athletic Club hosted Manhattans St. Christopher Club in the first organized basketball game between two black teams. By 1908 the Olympian Athletic League had finished it’s first season and the Brooklyn Smart Set Club (organized in 1898) became the first Champions. They were crowned the “Colored Basketball World Champions”, an unofficial term at the time. Henderson meanwhile played and managed the Washington 12th Street YMCA club team which won the Colored Basketball Championship in 1910. Consisting of primarily former or current Howard University students, the 12th streets, led by player-coach Henderson broke off to form Howard University’s first varsity basketball team which went undefeated in the 1910-11 season on their way to the Colored Basketball World’s Championship. A truly great pioneer of the sport, Henderson joined Joe Louis, Althea Gibson, Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell and Jesse Owens as the inaugural induction class of the Black Athletes Hall of Fame.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2413/2480569469_48267c824d.jpg?v=1210448599

Originally founded and started in the Christian Community as a way of pursuing spiritual harmony, Basketball, it was largely believed should remain an amateur sport. The early YMCA clubs consisted area members only on each team. The idea of stacking a team with talent was frowned upon and thought a taboo. A major step towards the professional game came in 1910 when Major A. Hart resigned as manager of the amateur St. Christopher Club and started the New York All Stars; the first All-Black basketball team to pay it players. Heavily and widely criticized for this endeavor, Hart took the Christopher Club’s best players and added top talents from the area including Charles Scottron, Ferdinand Accooe from the Smart Set Club and Charles Bradford, a Negro League Baseball Star. The team was boycotted by the ammeter clubs within the city’s leagues and so the All Stars were pioneers of another future pro basketball trend as they took to the road to barnstorm and issue challenges for other top teams to face them. Hart scheduled games at the Manhattan Casino in Harlem as well and while the All Stars were a force on the court, they were never able to overcome the negative perception of their professional pursuits. Unable to pay the players and pay for operations, Hart was forced to disband his All Stars in 1913. However as Blackfives.com put it “Though his efforts were ahead of their time and failed, Major Harts flirt with Professionalism emboldened other Black Fives to mimic his efforts, paving the way for later breakthroughs by such Champions as: The New York Incorporators, The Loendi Big Five, The Commonwealth Big Five and ultimately the New York Rens…”. In fact, in 1914 Will Anthony Madden, one of the games early pioneers and a promoter for the New York All-Stars who had returned to the St. Christopher Club of New York as manager just a year prior, again broke away again. This time forming the St. Christopher Club of New York Inc. The team was later dubbed the New York Incorporators and won the 1915 Colored World’s Championship.

[jlauber]

Every story has a beginning. Hard to believe that only as far back as 60 years ago, that there was so much racial inequity.

GREAT POST!

[Batz]

Subscribed to this...

[PHILA]

Looking forward to it. :applause:

[jlauber]

Wilt encountered some racism in his life, but he grew up in a mixed neighborhood, and was generally accepted by the white population where ever he went. But Russell and Oscar had to endure far more discrimination. Hopefully G.O.A.T can get into that here as well.

[Maga_1]

G.O.A.T keep acknowledging us , please.

[jlauber]

It is always good to get an education...in between all the lively debates.

[Solid Snake]

G.O.A.T keep acknowledging us , please.


Random question, in your avatar, would that buttocks happen to belong to...Shawn Johnson?

[Maga_1]

Random question, in your avatar, would that buttocks happen to belong to...Shawn Johnson?

Alicia Sacramone

[dj ys]

The guy behind Black Fives is a really good guy (fellow CMU alum). He's actually running for office in Connecticut :rockon:

http://www.claudeforgreenwich.com/

[G.O.A.T]

PART TWO:

[FONT="Palatino Linotype"] If the game was going to move towards professional sport, it would need an audience and they would need a reason to show up. So even before George Mikan was born, basketball

[L.Kizzle]

Nice

[jlip]

I'm an African American from Memphis and actually teach African American history at a local community college. I just may include some of this in a couple of my lectures. Awesome work, G.O.A.T.

On a side note... Being that Oscar Robertson is from TN, I find it quite strange that he's not really that popular here.

[50inchvertical]

You should also buy the DVD ESPN did on the topic, "Black Magic." You can get it through Netflix or Blockbuster

[jlauber]

I'm an African American from Memphis and actually teach African American history at a local community college. I just may include some of this in a couple of my lectures. Awesome work, G.O.A.T.

On a side note... Being that Oscar Robertson is from TN, I find it quite strange that he's not really that popular here.

From the posts that I have read, you must be an outstanding history teacher. We need more of them.

[Heilige]

Thanks G.O.A.T.

Awesome stuff! :cheers:

[G.O.A.T]

I'm an African American from Memphis and actually teach African American history at a local community college. I just may include some of this in a couple of my lectures. Awesome work, G.O.A.T.

On a side note... Being that Oscar Robertson is from TN, I find it quite strange that he's not really that popular here.

Without losing the point here, I'd like to ask your more qualified opinion on something.

For this article and most of my references to African American's or other Black American's as Black.

Most of the people I know of African or Indian or mixed ethnicity with black skin have always called themselves black, not an other term.

The other reason I avoided using African American very much is because in some cases it's simply not accurate. Robert Douglas for example (the founder of the Rens) traces his ancestry back to the West Indies, not Africa, yet he is often referred to in articles as an African-American pioneer.

I was wondering what you thought of this decision?


Thanks G.O.A.T.

Awesome stuff! :cheers:

You bet. Any questions, corrections or comments please feel free...

[jlip]

From the posts that I have read, you must be an outstanding history teacher. We need more of them.

Appreciate that. I do the best that I can. Also, I've learned a lot from this forum in just the few weeks that I've been here. I love how you guys research and include primary sources such as articles and official box scores from previous eras in your posts. I wish I had joined here much sooner.

[G.O.A.T]

You should also buy the DVD ESPN did on the topic, "Black Magic." You can get it through Netflix or Blockbuster

A major inspiration for this project along with the aforementioned BlackFives.com which is run by Claude Johnson.

[jlip]

Without losing the point here, I'd like to ask your more qualified opinion on something.

For this article and most of my references to African American's or other Black American's as Black.

Most of the people I know of African or Indian or mixed ethnicity with black skin have always called themselves black, not an other term.

The other reason I avoided using African American very much is because in some cases it's simply not accurate. Robert Douglas for example (the founder of the Rens) traces his ancestry back to the West Indies, not Africa, yet he is often referred to in articles as an African-American pioneer.

I was wondering what you thought of this decision?



You bet. Any questions, corrections or comments please feel free...

It's very complicated, but I would suggest that you employ whatever label you're comfortable using. I also would imagine that Douglas didn't prefer the term "African American" because race is and has been defined much differently in the West Indies than in the U.S.

Also, it's not well understood in popular circles but the term African American was used during the 19th century by Blacks although it was not the most dominant label. The primary impetus for the revival of this designation was the academic and cultural revolutions of the late 60's and early 70's which witnessed a greater interest in the study of Africa and it's relevance to world's history. It gained significantly more currency during the 80's and has persisted until today. The label "African American" is what is en vogue in most academic circles today, even though for the sake of variety I use Black, African American, and Black American in articles and lectures. Without spending too much time on this, again I would just recommend that you use whatever you are comfortable with.

[jlip]

@G.O.A.T.

I think I misunderstood what you were saying about Robert Douglas. My bad. It is indeed true that he traces his ancestry back to St. Kitts in the Caribbean, but the vast majority of "Black" people in the America(s) are descendants of West and West Central Africans who were brought over during the transatlantic slave trade. Close to four times as many Africans landed in the British Caribbean (where Douglas is from) than landed in the U.S., and he's a descendant of that group. As a matter of fact, most Africans who ended up in the U.S. by the time of the Rev. War actually were brought to the West Indies first and endured a process known as "seaosning" before being sold to the U.S.

Just from the brief biographical sketch of Johnson that I looked up, he seems to have been part of the late 19th/ early 20th century group of West Indian immigrants into the U.S. which included individuals such as Marcus Garvey and Harlem Renaissance pioneer, Claude McKay. At the time that he came to the U.S., the social and racial climate was such that being labeled "African" anything was deemed an insult given that Africa was viewed by the West as savage and uncivilized. I would imagine that if he had any reservations about a connection to Africa, they would stem from this context. Finally he died before the term African American eventually became popular.

I've taken up way to much of your thread with this. SORRY! Again, I would use whichever label (Black or Afr. Amer.) you're comfortable with.

[G.O.A.T]

PART THREE:


http://erickslr.tripod.com/renaissance_full.jpg

[FONT="Palatino Linotype"] At that same time a Casino was opening up on 138th street & Seventh Avenue in Harlem. The two-story Renaissance Casino and Ballroom was owned by Sarco Realty, which was owned by William Roach, like Douglas a Caribbean American. Douglas made a deal with Roach that would make the Casino the Spartan Braves new home. They would rent the practice space and split the gate for their home games played in the Casino

[InspiredLebowski]

I'm an African American from Memphis and actually teach African American history at a local community college. I just may include some of this in a couple of my lectures. Awesome work, G.O.A.T.

On a side note... Being that Oscar Robertson is from TN, I find it quite strange that he's not really that popular here.Oscar may've been born in TN but he's pretty clearly a Hoosier. That's like NY trying to claim MJ.

[G.O.A.T]

I'd like to request that anyone who appreciates this thread (or thinks it's poorly done) to rate it. It has received four 1 star votes, all within an hour and a half of each other and I believe by the same one or two people. I normally wouldn't care, but if someone stumbles across this thread through a google search, I don't want them to pass it by because it has a low rating. Apparently I upset someone with my opinions and way opf expressing them and they are taking it out on all my threads with their votes. The other ones don't bother me, but this one is not an opinion thread and I don't believe anyone whom reads it would rate it one star, even if they think I am the biggest a-hole in the world.

[jlauber]

I'd like to request that anyone who appreciates this thread (or thinks it's poorly done) to rate it. It has received four 1 star votes, all within an hour and a half of each other and I believe by the same one or two people. I normally wouldn't care, but if someone stumbles across this thread through a google search, I don't want them to pass it by because it has a low rating. Apparently I upset someone with my opinions and way opf expressing them and they are taking it out on all my threads with their votes. The other ones don't bother me, but this one is not an opinion thread and I don't believe anyone whom reads it would rate it one star, even if they think I am the biggest a-hole in the world.

Five-star my friend.

[thejumpa]

Haven't read the piece yet but I will definitely do so in the morning. It sounds pretty interesting. Good stuff OP. I'll definitely make sure to rate as well.

[jlauber]

G.O.A.T has a great point here...

this subject is not about opinions. It is about HISTORY.

We are privileged to be able to learn some of it here.

[jlip]

G.O.A.T has a great point here...

this subject is not about opinions. It is about HISTORY.

We are privileged to be able to learn some of it here.

^This^

As a said earlier, Awesome thread!

[G.O.A.T]

PART FOUR:


As the rivalry with the Original Celtics dissipated another rival of a much different kind emerged. In Chicago the Savoy Big Five had been in operation since 1926 as the Giles Post until 1928 when the Savoy ballroom had commissioned a basketball team to begin play using their hotel ballroom as the home court. They had become a viable team and gained acclaim in the Midwest with wins over the Loendi Big Five in the late part of the 1927 and early 1928. But turmoil from within had forced them to break apart in April of 1928 with former team members Tommy Brookins, Randolph Ramsey and Ham Watson all quitting and forming their own team, Tommy Brookins Globe Trotters. Brookins was an original member of the Savoy Big Five, but had become dissatisfied with some of the team’s decisions. Their manager Dick Hudson, also a Savoy defector, recommended booking agent Abe Saperstein to help the new team find a playing tour. Saperstein had bigger ideas of his own and after sending Brookins boys on a tour of the Michigan and Wisconsin, he formed his own team, “borrowed” Brookins team name and though they were based in Chicago, promoted them as the New York Globetrotters. Brookins confronted Saperstein shortly after and agreed to allow him to use the team name in exchange for accepting a number of his players as team members. So here’s where everything gets confusing historically. The most famous barn storming team of all-time, the most famous all-black team of all-time, the team that traces their history back to the Savoy Big Five, the Harlem Globetrotters, were not from Harlem, not Globetrotters, never affiliated with the Savoy team or Casino at all. And really, despite their attempts to rewrite history, they are not even close to the most significant contributor to the integration of pro basketball from the pre-NBA era. In fact, the popular Globetrotters which following their barnstorming days playing double headers along with early NBA games to help bring in bigger crowds and more revenue, actually may have stifled integration by putting pressure on NBA owners not to draft or sign black players so that Saperstein could maintain his monopoly on the top black college stars. But were getting ahead of ourselves, back to their beginnings.

Unless you were alive in 1935 and before, forget what you know about the Harlem Globetrotters. The original incarnation of this team was not just a collection of great entertainers, but some of the nation’s best basketball players and one of the world’s best teams. They won games at an incredible rate, going 152-2 during their 1933-34 tour battling a myriad of clubs and filling arenas, armories and ballrooms wherever they went. However the one team they didn’t play, oddly enough, was the New York Rens; this was no accident. The “New York” Globetrotters had adopted the Harlem title now, Saperstein finding it even more descriptive of the product on the court. (He wanted to make sure people knew they were black) It was this decision, as well as the team’s approach to basketball that had kept Douglas from seeking out or agreeing to a contest with Saperstein’s team. The Globetrotters had risen to prominence not just by winning games, but by clowning. Entertaining, performing tricks and routines during their basketball games, talented as they were, they’re popularity was because they were easy to root for, at least for White Americans. By playing the role of basketball clown princes, they could be dismissed as such, instead of as a threat to the white athletic establishment. The Irony of their taking the name Harlem is staggering. While they were undermining the athletic prowess and general equity of the black man in America, the Harlem Renaissance was promoting the rise of an educated, professional and equal black man. Douglas believed it was necessary to play opponents honestly and legitimately. He believed that a black team beating a white team and proving the preconceived notion of racial superiority wrong in athletics, it would force people to examine their feelings toward race in other capacities.

Saperstein was an opportunist; he was a fantastic promoter, organizer and facilitator. In addition to his role with the formation and popularization with the Trotters, he also played a major role in the growth and development of the NBA, bringing the Globetrotters in for double headers that attracted much larger crowds than the organized pros could. To say he was an aggressive entrepreneur would be a severe understatement. He started with the Globetrotters in his early twenties and was an active cog in the workings of pro basketball until his death in. He would also have a hand in the creation and promotion of Negro Baseball League. In the early 1960’s he tried to create a new American Basketball League and for one season it operated and posed a small but noticeable threat to the NBA. Saperstein is viewed by some as a pioneer and champion of African-American athletes and others as a greedy business man who exploited and held back black basketball players for his own gain. Regardless of which side of the debate you come down on, it’s impossible to deny the significance of his contributions to basketball. At every turn, Saperstein was pushing the game of basketball to new heights.

The Globetrotters meanwhile had continued to prove themselves a powerhouse in basketball, just like the Rens. The stage for their first meeting was fittingly, the grandest in basketball to date. In one of the more innovative and interesting developments in pre-NBA basketball, Harry Hannin and Harry Wilson had organized the World Pro Basketball Tournament in Chicago. They invited twelve of basketballs best teams regardless of the city they were based in, league they played in and most importantly color of their skin. Among the teams that got the invite for the inaugural 1939 Championship; The Philadelphia Sphas, New York Yankees of the ABL. The Oshkosh All-Stars, Sheboygan Red Skins and Cleveland White Horses of the NBL. And seven independent teams including the Benton Harbor, Michigan House of David, Clarksburgh Oilers, Chicago All-Americans, Fort Wayne Harvesters and the three central figures in barnstorming basketball over the past two decades plus; The Original Celtics, Harlem Globetrotters and the Harlem Rens. The Spha’s pulled out early due to injuries and were replaced by the Illinois Grads all-star team. The White Horses declined the invitation all together and left the NBL shortly after, leaving eleven teams to vie for the initial title. The Celtics had folded briefly in late 1936 before being purchased and revived by the Kate Smith Opera House, they now played their home games at the Hippodrome. Still their reputation what it was, they along with the Rens and the Oshkosh All-Stars received byes. However they were not able to survive on their previous successes once the games started, and the Sheboygan Red Skins who had finished with the second worst record (11-17) in the NBL, eliminated the Originals 36-29 in the quarterfinals. Oshkosh defeated Clarksburgh 40-33, the Rens topped the New York Yankees 30-21 and the Globetrotters defeated Chicago’s finest 31-25. It set up the match-up everyone was waiting for, the Chicago-based Harlem Globetrotters and the Harlem-based New York Renaissance Big Five.

[G.O.A.T]

[FONT="Palatino Linotype"]There had been a lot of posturing from both sides and plenty of boasting and bragging and laying claim to supremacy. Now the questions would finally be answered on the court. Robert Douglas had become the first black sole owner of a professional basketball team and shortly thereafter had become one of the first to align with a home court and utilize player contracts that spanned the entire season. Saperstein had stolen his team name and concept from the man who hired him. During their first few years the team won a number of games against intentionally over matched opponents and began incorporating

[jlauber]

[QUOTE]After the championship victory, Douglas purchased jackets for the team celebrating the triumph. The jacket read: "N.Y. Rens Colored World Champions." When Isaacs saw the inscription, he asked to borrow a razor blade from Douglas and then proceeded to meticulously remove the word "Colored" from the jacket. Douglas responded, "You're ruining the jacket."

[G.O.A.T]

Just a wonderful story. Can't wait for the Trotters-Lakers.

I actually chose to cover their rivalry in a section about the Lakers dynasty. I decieded to make the Rens the stars of this section because they are sort of that bridge from the 1910's to the 1940's. Basketball's adolescence that reached maturity with an integrated NBA in 1950.

[Pointguard]

Great stuff. Outstanding? I learned a lot and I already knew a good piece of it.

[magnax1]

What year was it that Robinson played in MLB? It was after 1950, right?

[L.Kizzle]

What year was it that Robinson played in MLB? It was after 1950, right?
1947

[jlauber]

I actually chose to cover their rivalry in a section about the Lakers dynasty. I decieded to make the Rens the stars of this section because they are sort of that bridge from the 1910's to the 1940's. Basketball's adolescence that reached maturity with an integrated NBA in 1950.

I can't wait for your book!

[Pointguard]

It's very complicated, but I would suggest that you employ whatever label you're comfortable using. I also would imagine that Douglas didn't prefer the term "African American" because race is and has been defined much differently in the West Indies than in the U.S.

Hey Jlip I do that same here in NYC. I agree with you and will get a little bit more into the details.

Douglass's roots actually were in Africa. He wasn't native American by any stretch of the imagination. Like many in the West Indies his DNA is more than likely 80% African. And nobody on any so-called West Indian islands looked like Robert Douglas 500 years ago. His culture has taught him that he is West Indian and that he doesn't share a common history with Blacks on the continent of America - and life is very different on the islands. So to distinguish he will say he has a West Indian background. African American is more inclusive (North America, Central, Carriean Islands and South America) and less distinctive. Blacks will usually mean North American African-Americans. Douglas children will likely call themselves Black unless they were raised in the West Indies. So GOAT African American is the most inclusive term.

Africa identifies the lineage while American is the cultural distinction.

[G.O.A.T]

Hey Jlip I do that same here in NYC. I agree with you and will get a little bit more into the details.

Douglass's roots actually were in Africa. He wasn't native American by any stretch of the imagination. Like many in the West Indies his DNA is more than likely 80% African. And nobody on any so-called West Indian islands looked like Robert Douglas 500 years ago. His culture has taught him that he is West Indian and that he doesn't share a common history with Blacks on the continent of America - and life is very different on the islands. So to distinguish he will say he has a West Indian background. African American is more inclusive (North America, Central, Carriean Islands and South America) and less distinctive. Blacks will usually mean North American African-Americans. Douglas children will likely call themselves Black unless they were raised in the West Indies. So GOAT African American is the most inclusive term.

Africa identifies the lineage while American is the cultural distinction.

I promise I'm not starting a stupid conversation here, but why if African American is the most inclusive term, then why is "White" the preferred term for European, Eurasian and Australian Americans etc?

Do you think I should continue to use "Black" primarily or "African American? Or do you like Jlip think both are fine and I should use what I am comfortable with?

Thanks for your response and I'd be curious to see what you think i may have left out of this story.

[G.O.A.T]

PART FIVE


The following season the Rens returned to the World Professional Basketball Tournament, so did the Globetrotters. Again the tournament committee neglected to put the two powers on opposite sides of the bracket and again both teams met early in the tournament; this time in the quarterfinals. Each had doubled up their opening round opponent and another thrilling game came down to the Final seconds. With the Rens up by one and time ticking away, Duke Cumberland hurled a half court shot that hit the bottom of the net and propelled Harlem to the semifinals with a 37-36 win. The Globetrotters would go on to win the tournament, defeating the Chicago Bruins in the Finals. The Rens spent the next five or six years, during WWII, slowly fading from the dominant days, they returned to the semi-finals of the World Pro Basketball Tournament in 1944 and 1945 but were never able to repeat as Champions. Still their impact was felt dramatically throughout the basketball world. They had won the Final “Colored Basketball World’s Championship” in 1925 and then first World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1939 and had dominated in-between. Being the best basketball team in the world for more than a decade and relevant for two more is impressive enough, but consider the following, and the achievements of the Rens are only exceeded in extraordinariness by the lack of attention they’ve received in the sixty years plus since they played their final game:

 The Rens would finish playing their games with the Celtics and the Celtics would go back to their hotel eat room service or in the hotel restaurant and get a good night’s sleep before heading home or to their next stop. The Rens, being all-black, had no such luxury. They would finish the games, board their buses, have meals brought to them which they’d eat on the bus and then drive until they found a town with a hotel that would let them stay. Tarzan Cooper remembers: "It seems like I spent my whole life on the road…When I look back on my playing days, all I see is that old bus. It was a rough ride in those days. Blacks couldn't stay in most hotels, and sometimes we had to drive 400 miles to find a hotel."
 At five separate games, race riots broke out according to Richard Lapchick, historian and son of former Original Celtics center and Knicks coach Joe Lapchick. Th people wanted to see the black teams play the white teams, but fairness was not at the top of their list of wants, if tensions got too high, riot squads had to be brought in. Eric Illedge, a long time road manager for the team recalled carrying a pistol with him courtside and Fat Jenkins kept a knife in his sock during games just in case, he never had to use it, but he brandished it on multiple occasions.
 Almost all of the officials and most of the fans were white; the Rens never got the benefit of the doubt on calls and never played to a true “home-court” advantage against All-White teams. There were times when they had to leave the game before it was over because the crowd was getting hostile, or times when they were told to lose a game to prevent a “scene” from occurring.

By the end of the 1940’s Professional Basketball was reaching new heights, even if no one knew it yet. Throughout the decade black players had integrated previously all-white leagues here and there, but nothing stuck. Then prior to the 1946-1947 season the NBL admitted Dolly King, Pops Gates, Willie King and Bill Farrow and Major League Baseball was making even bigger headlines as Jackie Robinson had been playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1947 baseball season. Encouraged by these developments and knowing that the BAA was down to seven teams, newly hired Knicks coach Lapchick petitioned to have the Rens added as the eight member of the new league. The NBL and its president Ike Duffy had already declined the Rens admittance to their league despite adding the black players the year before, but Lapchick hoped the league’s owners would see this as an opportunity to deliver a blow to their rival league. Smilin’ Bob Douglas recalls his efforts.

"It was in the fall of the year that Jackie Robinson broke into major league baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers, I'll never forget that day as long as I live. I bought a brand new Studebaker and drove down to Philadelphia in style. When I arrived, they invited me to sit in on their discussion before they voted. I remember that at one point an Italian fellow from Providence stood up and said the league could get along fine without us. Then Joe Lapchick, who was with the Knickerbockers, got up in front of his boss, Ned Irish, and said, 'I may lose my job for saying this, but I'd play against the Rens any goddam day. To me they're the best."
However the motion failed and the Rens were still a team without a league, twenty five years after the ABL had first denied them admittance, the NBL and BAA had vociferously seconded the motion. Distraught by the lack of progress and the dwindling interest and competitiveness of the team, Douglass turned control of the Rens over to Illedge in 1948. In December of that year the NBL had second thoughts and when the Detroit Vagabond Kings folded the runs were offered a spot as the first all-black professional team. Perhaps fittingly though, the deck was stacked absurdly against them. Not only did they have to move their from Harlem to Dayton to join the league, they also had to inherit the Kings dismal 2-17 record. To make matters worse, Dayton was excited about having an all-black basketball team. They rarely showed, sometimes as few as a couple hundred people attended the Rens games. The Rens never had a chance, they finished in last place and after the season the leagues completed a merger and the Rens were not one of the teams coming along. Douglas rented the Rens to rival Abe Saperstein, but it was not a successful venture and the two men, once rivals agreed it was time to pull the plug on the Rens and they folded just before 1950, the NBA’s first official season. Charles Cooper reflects on the Rens, their demise and his time with the team.

“Progress was what finally killed the Rens. Jobs were coming up for blacks, and we had to think of our futures. The year after we won the world championship, I retired and took a job painting houses for $50 a week, year round. Sometimes I'd find myself leaning against that ladder, missing those days when we were flying high. But there was always the road, and I surely never did miss that. Still, it wasn't all bad. Why, I suppose if I could just run like those young fellows out there now, I'd hop right back on that bus and head for the open road again.”

[jlauber]

G.O.A.T

Once again you have provided one of the best threads ever on ISH. I will be honest with you and everyone else here. When it comes to major team sport's history, I have very little knowledge of any of them before 1960, except baseball (long time Strat-O-Matic gamer BTW.)

Furthermore, aside from hearing Kareem speaking about his book on the subject, I had never even heard of the Rens before.

It is interesting, but IMHO, most fans just take so many things for granted. The vast majority of sport's fans were not around when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. And I suspect that many today just shrug it off. I realize that racism still exists today, and it probably always will (and BTW...there are those in all races that are racist.) But, from my limited observations, our society has come to deplore racism, and only a very small percentage practice it, if for no other reason than it is not economically feasible to be a racist (e.g. a smart businessman is not going to hire a far less qualified person of a particular race, over another, that is much more qualified.)

And it is not my intent to argue any politics or social issues here, either...so please, let's not ruin this topic. I only bring it up, because, the facts remain, that the great Blacks athletes of the first half of the 1900's were never given an opportunity to prove themselves. And even when they were allowed to play against White teams, everything was stacked against them. As much as I hate to say it, it certainly appears as though the White fan base wanted to 'prove" that their white team's could beat the Black team's.

I was very fortunate. I grew up in the 50's and 60's, in a nearly all white community, but my parents taught me to judge each individual on their actions, and not by their color or religion. And, as most all of you probably know by now...I idolized Wilt, Mays, Alcindor, even OJ (as well as Starr, West, Maravich, Mantle, and while I hated Koufax, I respected him as much as any athlete I have ever known.) Here again, I'll be honest...I NEVER looked at these great athletes as Black or white (sure, you I noticed their skin color...but I never gave it a second thought.)

Now, as I have become much more interested sport's history, I have really come to appreciate these "pioneers" that paved the way for the game's that we have today.

And while I idolized Wilt, I hated Russell. And, as I have pointed out, those that knew the both of them, would almost universally tell you that Wilt was far more accessible, and that Wilt treated almost everyone as a human being. BUT, the more research that I have done, the more that I have come to realize that the two of them grew up under completely different circumstances. While I'm sure that Wilt experienced some racism in his life, the fact was, he grew up in a mixed neighborhood, and was coddled by almost everyone, where ever he went. Russell did not have the same experiences. Nor did Oscar. And I'm sure that the vast majority of the great Black athletes of the 50's and 60's (and perhaps even later) had to overcome similar obstacles that Russell and Oscar did (maybe much worse, since they were not nearly as great as those two were.)

Anyway, IMHO, integration in sport's obviously had a HUGE impact. And while it was inevitable, it still had to begin at some point. Of course, while we now generally applaud those pioneers, the tragedy is those that played before them. How many truly great athletes never had the opportunity to showcase their skills? I just can't imagine the frustration that they must have felt. To KNOW that they were among the best at their particular sport, and yet, to not have the opportunity to prove it. Or, when they were given an "opportunity", everything was stacked against them.

Sorry for a long-winded post...but this topic is so important in the grand scheme of where we are at today. We NEED these historical perspectives. Similarly, those that laugh at watching the existing footage of the game of basketball in the 50's,...they need to realize that the game we see today, was a long and slow evolution. I have said it before, but there was no one point in NBA history, where we could say that, this is when the game became what it is today. What I mean is that, those that say that the greats of MY era (the 60's and early 70's) would have no chance of beating the team's of today...they can't pinpoint when the players of yesteryear could compete. Most everyone here would tell you that MJ and Hakeem, at their peaks, would still dominate today. BUT, they can't tell you when the players before them, would not have been able to compete. Why? Because the game has evolved so slowly.

G.O.A.T once made a comment that has stuck for me (although I'm sure other's have said it as well)...the invention of the wheel was more important than the invention of the automobile. Because, without the wheel, there would be no cars. We need to embrace HISTORY here. And LEARN from it.

BTW, I know that G.O.A.T included the Trotters-Lakers rivalry in his chapter on the Lakers Dynasty, but hopefully he can maybe provide some excerpts on that HISTORIC battle. If not, I recommend those here to take the time to research it.

Finally...a big thanks to G.O.A.T!

[Pointguard]

I promise I'm not starting a stupid conversation here, but why if African American is the most inclusive term, then why is "White" the preferred term for European, Eurasian and Australian Americans etc?

Do you think I should continue to use "Black" primarily or "African American? Or do you like Jlip think both are fine and I should use what I am comfortable with?

Thanks for your response and I'd be curious to see what you think i may have left out of this story.

I think you are doing great. It is as thorough as you are going to get in this skeleton version. I will have to revisit notes to see if you left something worthy out. But no in that regards. I also love the fact that it is of great size - you hit the main points and it keeps moving.

On the termininolgy thing, Black is an English word so it wouldn't be fair to call Brazilian African Americans that title. Yet the Brazilian descendants of Africa are the biggest population of African Americans in the western hemisphere and they speak Portugese. Some people in the West Indies speak Dutch, Spanish or French. Calling Douglas, Black wouldn't be appropiate eventhough he spoke English but because his cultural heritage placed more emphasis on lifestyle of being on an island. So African American is always appropiate and it is the most politically correct when writing in general and say if you didn't know the particulars as in Douglas's case. Africa being the lineage and America being the current situation.

If you said Black American while referring to basketball in the time period you are talking about you are going to be 90% correct anyway.

More feedback on the content of your stuff when I am off work.

[DwadeOverLebron]

Alicia Sacramone


alicia sacramone=delicious

this past yrs womens olympics gymnastics team was the goat

sacramone, johnson, liukin = HOLY SMOKES!

[jlauber]

alicia sacramone=delicious

this past yrs womens olympics gymnastics team was the goat

sacramone, johnson, liukin = HOLY SMOKES!

I'm sorry, but I just don't see what any of this has to do with the topic. It's not my thread, and normally I wouldn't care, but this topic deserves a little more respect than that.

[G.O.A.T]

For those who missed it, part of it or don't want to sift through the thread.

Here are the five parts re-posted in order.

PART ONE:

[FONT="Palatino Linotype"]The greatest stain on the record of the BAA/NBA in its early years is the lack of urgency and forward thinking in terms of handling segregation. The NBA finally broke its color barrier in 1950 when Boston selected Chuck Cooper from Duquesne in the second round of the college draft. Six rounds later Washington selected Earl Lloyd who would become the first black player to play in a NBA game. Before either had signed with their team, the Knicks had lured Sweetwater Clifton from the Harlem Globetrotters and signed him to a contract. It was the second year of operations as the NBA and fifth overall when you include the BAA history. There was never a policy against signing or drafting black players, but the indifference to the issue that characterized the leagues owners was common amongst White America at that time. It was not as if they didn

[G.O.A.T]

PART TWO:

[FONT="Palatino Linotype"] If the game was going to move towards professional sport, it would need an audience and they would need a reason to show up. So even before George Mikan was born, basketball

[G.O.A.T]

PART THREE:

[FONT="Palatino Linotype"]
Right around the same time that the Braves were becoming the Rens, a number of all-black pro teams began to give a go at some of the top all-white pro teams, specifically the Celtics, but with little success. The Lincoln Stars battled the reigning World Champion New York Original Celtics in 1921 but lost by a convincing 30-16 margin. The Commonwealth Five had been swept in a series in 1924 just before beating the Rens in two straight themselves. The Original Celtics were the premier barnstorming team of the 1920

[G.O.A.T]

PART FOUR:


[FONT="Palatino Linotype"]
Unless you were alive in 1935 and before, forget what you know about the Harlem Globetrotters. The original incarnation of this team was not just a collection of great entertainers, but some of the nation

[G.O.A.T]

PART FIVE


[FONT="Palatino Linotype"]The following season the Rens returned to the World Professional Basketball Tournament, so did the Globetrotters. Again the tournament committee neglected to put the two powers on opposite sides of the bracket and again both teams met early in the tournament; this time in the quarterfinals. Each had doubled up their opening round opponent and another thrilling game came down to the Final seconds. With the Rens up by one and time ticking away, Duke Cumberland hurled a half court shot that hit the bottom of the net and propelled Harlem to the semifinals with a 37-36 win. The Globetrotters would go on to win the tournament, defeating the Chicago Bruins in the Finals. The Rens spent the next five or six years, during WWII, slowly fading from the dominant days, they returned to the semi-finals of the World Pro Basketball Tournament in 1944 and 1945 but were never able to repeat as Champions. Still their impact was felt dramatically throughout the basketball world. They had won the Final