Bibliograph

The Black fives, the epic story of basketball's forgotten era, Claude Johnson

Type

Label

The Black fives, the epic story of basketball's forgotten era, Claude Johnson

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (page 429-470)

Illustrations

illustrationsplates

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The Black fives

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1289273746

Responsibility statement

Claude Johnson

Sub title

the epic story of basketball's forgotten era

Summary

"African Americans were making moves in basketball generations before the rise of the NBA. Their pioneering efforts helped popularize the sport in big cities and small towns alike and shaped the game we know and love today. From the invention of the game in 1891 to the racial integration of all-White professional leagues int he 1950s, dozens of teams -- then often called "fives" -- of African American players were founded and flourished. This was a time of visionary players, managers, and impresarios who blazed a trail, battled discrimination and marginalization, and created rich, meaningful events that strengthened their communities in the face of Jim Crow oppression. But this era, known as the Black Fives Era, has been forgotten, overlooked, unacknowledged, and squashed. It is barely known today. For more than two decades, Claude Johnson has made it his mission to change that. A fiercely committed advocate, Johnson has researched, preserved, exhibited, taught, and honored this important African American experience, unearthing what might have remained buried in an unmarked grave. [This book] is the result of his work, a landmark narrative history that braids together the stories of these pioneers and rewrites our understanding of the true history of the game." -- Book jacket flap

Table Of Contents

An unmarked grave -- Survival -- Seeds -- Pittsburgh Pedigree -- Rites of passage -- Satan's circus -- 1901 -- Physical culture -- St. Christopher -- Great struggle for victory -- A real corker -- As our White friends play it -- Wabash outlaws -- Sport for sport's sake -- A janitor's key -- Virgil -- Maddening -- Supreme courts -- Loendi -- Outlaws -- Democracy lads -- The future of basketball -- Out-and-outers -- The new Negro -- Chicago Crusaders -- "True world champions" -- World Series of basketball -- The missing NBA team -- Vindication

resource.variantTitle

Black 5sEpic story of basketball's forgotten era

Classification