The Black Fives

By: Claude Johnson

Narrated by: Claude Johnson

A groundbreaking history of Black basketball

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 in the 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. The Black Fives 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.

©2022 Claude Johnson (P)2022 Recorded Books

A surprising page-turner

I was surprised to discover that a book about basketball history is a real page-turner. I heard the author describe this book as a basketball train traveling through history, and this is apt. I learned as much about the origins of basketball as I did about countless other events and situations in American history – the draft riots in New York City, strikebreakers in Pittsburgh; where basketball for money originated, nexus with the great migration, the list goes on. It’s a scholarly work but written in a way that’s digestible by non-scholarly readers. It's all fascinating reading. If you listen to the book, you’ll find it wonderfully narrated by the author.

An incredible insight into early 20th century black life

Originally I thought this was going to be a book on basketball, but it was so much more. It gave me insight into early 20th century black life that revolves around Basketball. It is so obvious that Mr Johnson put an incredible amount of time and research into this book concerning an era that is so under researched. . An incredible education for me. Bravo

Blacktastic

Well-written history (our-story) of Black basketball and it's pioneers of the sport in a once segregated sport

The Black Fives incredible story

This story from start to finish from the author, was well researched and documented from start to finish. I felt like it brought me through a journey of basketball that was untold. I think everyone who gets a chance, should read this book. History is important to be taught and learned, you won’t be disappointed.

Extraordinary accomplish

this is quite an extraordinary book. As far as I am aware, there is nothing even resembling it in terms of the history it tells. There is a lot of detail, and this won't be to everyone's taste, but I didn't find the book ever boring, and some of the details are in the background context, which is always interesting and I think will be valuable to many readers. The particular stories told our extraordinary. Incredible accomplishment!