Nov
3
Examining the New York Rens (aka the Renaissance Five), the First All-Black Professional Basketball Team
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
The first all-black professional basketball team, the Renaissance Five, played its first game ever, defeating the Collegian Five 28-22.
Founded by Robert J. Douglas, the father of black basketball, the Renaissance Five was one of the most viewed yet reviled teams of the barnstorming era. The Rens unfortunately and sadly were subject to much racism. Spectators often attended games with the sole motivation to heckle the Rens, regardless of their clean style of play and philosophy of sharing the ball. The Rens had to eat most post-game meals on their bus because dining establishments wouldn’t serve them because they were African American.
Despite all of the unfound hatred that the team faced, the Rens persevered and did what they did best: play ball. While modern basketball fans are aware of the amazing 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls squad that had a combined 87-13 record during the regular season and playoffs, the Rens were 112-7 in 1939!
The Original Celtics were archrivals of the Rens but also respected the team, refusing to join the American Basketball League in 1925 after the all-black squad was not extended a similar invitation. While snapping the Rens’ 88-game winning streak in 1933, the Original Celtics would lose seven of eight games to the team that year; an example of the prowess of the Rens on the basketball court.
Legendary UCLA Head Coach John Wooden, who played on barnstorming teams in the 1930s, has said that he never saw a team play better team basketball than the Rens. This is high praise from Wooden, who won 10 NCAA titles during his 27 years at UCLA, including seven straight national championships from 1967 to 1973, and is essentially the most revered figure all time in college basketball.
While modern society may be more familiar with the first all-black squad to win an NCAA championship, the 1966 Texas-Western team that defeated Adolph Rupp’s all-white Kentucky Wildcats’ squad (as depicted in the movie Glory Road), teams like the Rens need more recognition.
Thanks to The Black Fives Blog and its founder Claude Johnson, such recognition has finally come in the last couple of years. Learn more about the Rens and other all-black squads that helped set the stage for players today at this informative blog and The Black Fives Web site, which are much more definitive resources on the subject than Hoops 4 the Soul would ever proclaim to be.
In a day and age in which NBA players and professional athletes are paid millions of dollars and viewed as celebrities, it’s important that the game’s forefathers who set the foundation for later success by playing two or three games a day like the Rens often did while dealing with bigger societal issues like race get the attention and appreciation they deserve.
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Examining the New York Rens (aka the Renaissance Five), the First All-Black Professional Basketball Team
