The Rens, also known as the Renaissance Big Five, took on the all-white Oshkosh All-Stars in Chicago at the World Professional Basketball Championships and won. Their play helped establish other Black squads like the Harlem Globetrotters, and paved the way for integration in the sport. The team eventually disbanded in 1949 and the merger between the racially integrated National Basketball League and the formerly all-white National Basketball Association took place.
The entire team was inducted into the Professional Basketball Hall of Fame in 1963, including well-known members such as Frank Forbes, Harold “Fat” Jenkins, Leon Monde, “Wee” William Smith and Hall of Famer Chuck “Tarzan” Cooper.
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
Little Known Black History Fact: New York Rens was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
