Price was not only the oldest living former Harlem Globetrotter but was also one of 10 black players who in 1941 broke the racial color barrier in pro basketball by signing with the Toledo Jim White Chevrolets of the National Basketball League.
This is a reminder that today is the anniversary of the date in 1939 when the all-black New York Renaissance (a.k.a. Harlem Rens) won the inaugural World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago.
Jackie Robinson was much better at basketball than he was at baseball, and may have been the finest player in the game during his time. His brief pro basketball career was only a glimpse of what might have been.
Did one devastating punch thrown by a future Basketball Hall of Fame player in an unrelated game threaten to derail Jackie Robinson’s baseball debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers?
The NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996. The problem is that it didn’t exist until 1950 when the BAA merged with the NBL. This new book clears that up.
Please join me in wishing a Happy Birthday to George Crowe, the last surviving member of the New York Renaissance professional basketball team. Crowe turns 88 years old this weekend.
Please donate. Your generous tax-deductible donation helps the Black Fives Foundation use this history to teach life lessons relevant today! Thank you!
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