The Black Five era in perspective
THE BLACK FIVES ERA IN PERSPECTIVE Just after the game of basketball was invented in 1891, teams were called “fives” in reference to their five starting players. Basketball, like American society, was racially segregated. Teams made up entirely of African American players were often known as “colored quints,” “Negro cagers,” or “black fives.” The sport remained divided from 1904 — when basketball was first introduced to African Americans on a wide scale organized basis — until the racial integration of the National Basketball League in the 1940s and the National Basketball Association in 1950. The period in between became known as the Black Fives Era, when dozens of all-Black teams emerged, flourished, and excelled. African Americans were making moves in basketball generations before the N.B.A. was born. The men and women of the Black Fives Era were true basketball pioneers whose desire simply to play their best and innovate the game opened doors for generations of Af...