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.
This is the world’s leading collection of vintage African American basketball photographs and self-customizable photo products celebrating the historic Black Fives Era, prior to the racial integration of the N.B.A.
This weekend marks the 70th anniversary of the historic date (March 28, 1939) the all-black New York Renaissance defeated the Oshkosh All Stars to win the championship title in the inaugural World Professional Basketball Tournament at the Chicago Coliseum.
The Rochester Royals won the 1945-46 National Basketball League Championship in their first season with the league. The following year the Royals defended their title, with a new player named William “Dolly” King, the team’s first African American player.
Certainly, the re-birth of America has begun. President Obama has asked each of us to do our part, knowing it won’t be easy, saying, “the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many.” Surely, as we are re-born, the world “out there” will begin to look new to us. But, what about our inner world? Will each of us make the necessary changes on the inside to help enable this transformation? How?
Brian Gaynor of the Des Moines Register copped some nice research about the breaking of the racial color barrier in the old National Basketball League, for a piece he wrote that appeared this week in the Sheboygan Press.
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