 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2020) |
Robert (Bob) L. Douglas | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 4, 1882 |
| Died | July 16, 1979 (aged 96) |
| Occupation | Hall of Fame, Contributor |
Robert L. Douglas (b. (St. Kitts) November 4, 1882 [1] – d. (unknown) July 16, 1979) was the founder of the New York Renaissance basketball team, the first fully all-black professional black-owned basketball team. [2]
Nicknamed the "Father of Black Professional Basketball", Douglas owned and coached the Rens from 1923 to 1949, guiding them to a 2,318-381 record (.859).
The Rens barnstormed throughout the United States, mostly in the Midwest, and played any team that would schedule them, black or white. Traveling as far as 200 miles for a game, they often slept on the bus and ate cold meals; they were barred from many hotels and restaurants by Jim Crow laws and norms of racial discrimination which prevailed in the northern United States at the time. [2]
The Rens soon became a dominant team, winning as many as 88 consecutive games during the 1932–33 season. In the twenties and early thirties, their matches with the Original Celtics were basketball's greatest gate attraction. [2] At the World Professional Basketball Tournament they won in 1939, lost to the eventual champion Harlem Globetrotters in 1940, and finished second to the National Basketball League champion Minneapolis Lakers in 1948.
He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1972, the first African American enshrined. [3]
The National Basketball League (NBL) was a professional basketball league in the United States established in 1937. After the 1948–49 season, its twelfth, it merged with the Basketball Association of America (BAA) to create the National Basketball Association (NBA). Five current NBA teams trace their history back to the NBL: the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Sacramento Kings.
The New York Renaissance, also known as the Renaissance Big R Five and as the Rens, were the first black-owned, all-black, fully-professional basketball team in history, established in October 1923, by Robert "Bob" Douglas. They were named after the Renaissance Casino and Ballroom through an agreement with its owner, in return for the use of that facility as their home court. The Casino and Ballroom at 138th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem was an entertainment complex that included a ballroom, which served as the Rens' home court. The team eventually had its own house orchestra and games were often followed by a dance. Their subsequent financial success shifted the focus of black basketball from amateurism to professionalism. Initially, the Rens played mostly in Harlem, but Douglas soon realized they could book more games on the road, in larger-capacity venues, and took up barnstorming across the country for more lucrative payouts. The Renaissance are also the topic of the 2011 documentary On the Shoulders of Giants.
Donald Argee Barksdale was an American professional basketball player. He was a pioneer as an African-American basketball player, becoming the first to be named NCAA All-American, the first to play on a United States men's Olympic basketball team, and the first to play in a National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
William Penn "Pop" Gates was an American professional basketball player.
Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton was an American professional basketball and baseball player. He is best known as one of the first African Americans to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Robert Albert Kurland was a 7 feet (2.1 m) American basketball center, who played for the two-time NCAA champion Oklahoma A&M Aggies basketball team. He led the U.S. basketball team to gold medals in two Summer Olympics, and led his AAU team to three national titles. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Clarence Reginald Jenkins, nicknamed "Fats", was an American professional baseball and basketball player from about 1920 to 1940. He played when both professional sports were racially segregated as an African-American. Primarily he played left field in baseball's Negro leagues, and point guard for the barnstorming New York Renaissance on the hardwood, where he was also team captain. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021.
Black Fives is a trademarked term, federally registered in the United States Patent & Trademark Office, that refers to the all-Black basketball teams that existed in the United States between 1904, when the game was first introduced to African Americans on a wide-scale organized basis, and 1950, when the NBA signed its first Black players. The period is known as the "Black Fives Era" or "Early Black Basketball" or simply "Black Basketball."
John William Isaacs was a Panamanian-American professional basketball player. Born in Panama but raised in New York City, he was a member of the New York Renaissance, the Washington Bears, and various other teams.
The Dayton Rens were a member of the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1948-49 season and were the only all-black team to play in a white league. This milestone came just one year after Jackie Robinson, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. For the Rens, however, this milestone would be the only highlight of a season in which they finished in last place with a record of 16-43.
Detroit Collegiate Preparatory Academy at Northwestern is a public high school in Detroit, part of Detroit Public Schools, the re-named successor to Northwestern High School. The most recent enrollment figures for Northwestern indicate a student population of approximately 2,000.
Leroy Harry Edwards, nicknamed "Cowboy" and "Lefty", was one of the greatest basketball players of his era. He was an NCAA All-American at the University of Kentucky and also one of the most lauded professional players in the United States' National Basketball League's history.
Robert Emmet Hurley is an American basketball coach. At the now-closed St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, Hurley amassed 26 state championships in 39 years as a coach. On February 2, 2011, Hurley became the tenth coach in high school history to win 1,000 games. Five of his teams have gone undefeated.
Basketball began with its invention in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as a less injury-prone sport than football. Naismith was a 31-year old graduate student when he created the indoor sport to keep athletes indoors during the winters. The game became established fairly quickly and grew very popular as the 20th century progressed, first in America and then in other parts of the world. After basketball became established in American colleges, the professional game followed. The American National Basketball Association (NBA), established in 1946, grew to a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the end of the century, and basketball became an integral part of American culture.
David "Big Dave" DeJernett was a pioneer of integration in early basketball in the United States. He is best known for leading the integrated Washington Hatchets to the Indiana state title as a high school junior in the 1929–30 season.
Bob Ryland was an American tennis player and coach, known for having been the first African-American to play professional tennis. Ryland coached some of the world's top-ranked professionals, including; Harold Solomon, Renee Blount, Leslie Allen, Arthur Ashe, Bruce Foxworth, Venus Williams and Serena Williams. Ryland also taught and coached at clubs in Bermuda, Puerto Rico, St. Alban's Tennis Club in Washington, D.C. and the Mid-Town Tennis Club in Manhattan. Ryland was inducted into the Wayne State University Athletic Hall of Fame (1991), Black Tennis Hall of Fame (2009), and the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002, where he also received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
Bessie Ann Frances Stockard is an American tennis player and women's basketball coach.
 | This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player, coach, or other figure born in the 1880s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |