Black Fives

Lore & Background

Edwin Henderson, a black gym teacher, introduced basketball to African Americans in a wide-scale organized way in the winter of 1904 in Washington, D.C., through physical education classes in racially segregated public schools. He learned the sport at Harvard University and saw basketball as a public-health and civil-rights tool. The first independent African American basketball team was the Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn, organized in 1907, which won the first 'Colored Basketball World's Championship' for the 1907–08 season. The first inter-city competition between two African American basketball teams took place on December 18, 1908, when the Smart Set Athletic Club traveled to Washington, D.C., to play the Crescent Athletic Club.

Reader's Guide

The Black Fives Era represents a foundational period in American basketball history, arising from racial segregation that excluded African Americans from mainstream leagues. These teams, often sponsored by churches, YMCAs, and social clubs, provided a platform for black athletes to compete and excel. The era produced legendary teams like the Renaissance Big Five (Rens), which had an all-time record of 2588 wins and 529 losses, and players such as Cum Posey, considered one of the finest athletes of his generation. The Black Fives not only advanced the sport but also served as a tool for civil rights, as envisioned by Edwin Henderson, who believed athletic success could debunk negative racial stereotypes. The era ended in 1950 when the NBA became racially integrated.

Did You Know?

• The term 'Black Fives' refers to all-Black basketball teams from 1904 to 1950.
• Edwin Henderson introduced basketball to African Americans in Washington, D.C., in 1904.
• The Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn won the first 'Colored Basketball World's Championship' in 1907–08.

The Seeds of a Movement: Edwin Henderson and 1904

In the winter of 1904, a Black gym teacher named Edwin Henderson began teaching basketball in the racially segregated public schools of Washington, D.C. Thirteen years after the sport's invention, Henderson had learned the game while taking summer physical-training courses at Harvard University, and he brought it back to his students with a vision far beyond mere recreation. He saw basketball as a public-health instrument and a civil-rights lever, believing that organized Black athletics could send outstanding student-athletes to northern white colleges and dismantle racial stereotypes. In sports, he reasoned, Black Americans might finally receive a fair shot at success that politics and business denied them. The reception was not instant; Henderson himself recalled that his students initially dismissed basketball as a 'sissy' game, much as tennis had been mocked in the era of rugged football. Undeterred, by 1906 he had co-founded the Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association of Middle Atlantic States alongside educators from M Street High School, Howard University, and Armstrong Technical High School, creating a formal amateur structure for intercollegiate and interscholastic competition in both track and field and basketball.

From Brooklyn to the Big Stage: The First Teams and Championships

The first independent all-Black basketball team in the sport's history was the Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn, organized in 1907. That same season, African American sportswriters informally crowned them champions of what they dubbed the 'Colored Basketball World's Championship,' a title born from their own consensus rather than any official governing body. The following December, on the 18th of 1908, the Smart Set traveled to Washington, D.C., to face the Crescent Athletic Club in what stands as the first inter-city contest between two Black basketball teams; Brooklyn took the victory. By the fall of 1910, the game had evolved further when former St. Christopher Club manager Major A. Hart assembled the New York All-Stars, the first all-Black pay-for-play squad. Hart explicitly framed basketball as entertainment with revenue potential, urging players and fans to build a league, play fast and clean games, and shed the petty jealousies that could alienate spectators. He wanted Black teams to compete in the same spirit of fairness as their white counterparts, turning the sport into both a community spectacle and an economic opportunity.

A Spreading Network: The Game Finds Its Cities

Within just four seasons of that first inter-city matchup, the Black basketball landscape had transformed dramatically. By the 1912–13 season, traveling to Washington or New York to face the best competition was no longer necessary. The network of inter-city play had expanded to include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Newark, Baltimore, Atlantic City, and the college campuses of Howard, Hampton, and Lincoln, with the reach soon extending into the Midwest and New England. The talent pool deepened alongside the geography. At Harlem's St. Christopher Club, teams reportedly enjoyed the luxury of two hours of regular daily practice, planting the seeds for the next great New York squad. At Hampton University in Virginia, physical educator Charles Holston Williams was shaping another outstanding college program. Simultaneously, a construction boom in YMCAs for Black men was underway across the country, providing young players in cities nationwide with structured training facilities. Dozens of all-Black teams sprang up in New York City, Washington, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and beyond, each sponsored or affiliated with churches, athletic clubs, social clubs, businesses, newspapers, YMCA branches, and other community organizations.

Community Pillars and a Lasting Legacy

The Black Fives Era was sustained not by corporate sponsors or television deals but by the generosity of local communities. Fans, business owners, and community leaders pooled donations to cover equipment, uniforms, travel costs, and venue rentals, making every team a collective investment in Black pride and visibility. Among the most celebrated products of this era was the Harlem Renaissance team, founded in the early 1920s in Harlem, New York City. Renowned for their exceptional skill, athleticism, and distinctive style of play, they accumulated a staggering all-time record of 2,588 wins against 529 losses. The era drew to a close in 1950, when the National Basketball Association signed its first Black players and the separate all-Black leagues became obsolete. Yet the Black Fives Era left an indelible mark on African American history, producing notable NBA players and demonstrating that organized sport could serve as a platform for excellence, community cohesion, and the dismantling of racial stereotypes in an era when such opportunities were systematically denied in nearly every other sphere of American life.