BLACK FIVES: The Alpha Physical Culture Club's Pioneering African American Basketball Team, 1904-1923

Nonfiction, Sports, Basketball, History, Americas
Cover of the book BLACK FIVES: The Alpha Physical Culture Club's Pioneering African American Basketball Team, 1904-1923 by Claude Johnson, Claude Johnson
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Author: Claude Johnson ISBN: 9780985090814
Publisher: Claude Johnson Publication: March 18, 2012
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Claude Johnson
ISBN: 9780985090814
Publisher: Claude Johnson
Publication: March 18, 2012
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

Formed in 1904, the Alpha Physical Culture Club of Harlem was America’s first African American athletic club. Conrad Norman, its Jamaican-born founder, hoped to address rampant lung disease among blacks living in New York City’s overcrowded tenements by providing proper exercise facilities they could use without bias. The club’s basketball team, the Alpha Big Five, became nationally famous during the 1910s while sticking faithfully to the strictest amateur ideals. But the times were changing. The Alphas' version of pure sport for its own sake was threatened by new black fives with visions of play-for-pay, led by team owners like fellow Caribbean immigrant Robert Douglas. Which ideal would prevail? The future of basketball was at stake.

The author is Claude Johnson, founder and C.E.O. of Black Fives, Inc. and BlackFives.com.

The book includes a foreword by world renowned D.J., sneaker aficionado, publisher, voiceover artist, television personality, record label owner, writer, radio host, M.C., author, and film director Bobbito García.

Also includes a Reader Discussion Guide at the end of the book.

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Formed in 1904, the Alpha Physical Culture Club of Harlem was America’s first African American athletic club. Conrad Norman, its Jamaican-born founder, hoped to address rampant lung disease among blacks living in New York City’s overcrowded tenements by providing proper exercise facilities they could use without bias. The club’s basketball team, the Alpha Big Five, became nationally famous during the 1910s while sticking faithfully to the strictest amateur ideals. But the times were changing. The Alphas' version of pure sport for its own sake was threatened by new black fives with visions of play-for-pay, led by team owners like fellow Caribbean immigrant Robert Douglas. Which ideal would prevail? The future of basketball was at stake.

The author is Claude Johnson, founder and C.E.O. of Black Fives, Inc. and BlackFives.com.

The book includes a foreword by world renowned D.J., sneaker aficionado, publisher, voiceover artist, television personality, record label owner, writer, radio host, M.C., author, and film director Bobbito García.

Also includes a Reader Discussion Guide at the end of the book.

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