1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:10,079 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: show that tallies the wins and losses of everyday history. 4 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're talking about a pioneering 5 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: team from the early days of professional basketball and the 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: visionary owner slash coach who led them from Harlem to 7 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame. The day was February thirteenth, nineteen 8 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: twenty three. The New York Renaissance basketball team was formed 9 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: in Harlem. The Renaissance, also known as the Wrens, was 10 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: the first all black, fully pro team in the history 11 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: of the sport. It was also the first to have 12 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: majority black ownership, having been organized, managed, and coached by 13 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: just one person, a black business owner named Bob Douglas. 14 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 1: At the time, more than twenty years before the formation 15 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: of the NBA, professional basketball teams were segregated, just like 16 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: those of baseball and football. Black players weren't allowed to 17 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: join a regional league, but they could still compete in 18 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: the exhibition games that routinely toured the country, often playing 19 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 1: against the same white teams that had barred them from 20 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:34,639 Speaker 1: league play. This style of touring was called barnstorming because 21 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: the games were often held in rural parts of the country, 22 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: though most of them weren't played in barns. Barnstorming was 23 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 1: a difficult prospect for black players, not only because of 24 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: the high cost of touring, but because many of the 25 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: stops were in areas that were impractical or flat out 26 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: dangerous for black people to visit. As a result, black 27 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: teams tended to play only if they lived close to 28 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: a stop along the tour circuit, and with income that sporadic, 29 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: none of them could afford to play ball full time. 30 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: All of that changed in nineteen twenty three, when black 31 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: entrepreneur Bob Douglas decided to form his own team. He 32 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: had been enamored with basketball since nineteen o five, when 33 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: he played it for the first time, just a few 34 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: years after immigrating to New York from Saint Kitts. Three 35 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: years later, Douglas helped found the Spartan Field Club to 36 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,399 Speaker 1: support his and other Black New Yorker's interest in playing sports. 37 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: The club helped secure access to facilities where members could 38 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: play a variety of amateur team sports, with cricket and 39 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: basketball being the two most popular. Eventually, Douglas founded and 40 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: played for an adult amateur basketball team within the club 41 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: called the Spartan Braves. He remained one of the team's 42 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: star players until his retirement in nineteen eighteen at the 43 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: age of thirty six, at which point he transitioned to 44 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: managing the club. A few years after that, Douglas began 45 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: searching for a permanent home for the Braves, somewhere they 46 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: could hold exhibition matches on a regular basis. At the time, 47 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: black businesses were booming in Harlem, and Douglas believed the 48 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:16,519 Speaker 1: community could and would support a professional team. His search 49 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: for a venue led him to the newly opened Black 50 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: owned Renaissance Ballroom and Casino on Seventh Avenue. In February 51 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: of nineteen twenty three, Douglas met with casino owner William 52 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: Roach and asked if the Braves could play their home 53 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: games in his ballroom. The team would install the basketball 54 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: hoops themselves and clear the court after every game in 55 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: time for the venue's late night dance session. Roach was 56 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: hesitant at first, but he eventually came around after Douglas 57 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: agreed to arrange the games himself and to pay the 58 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: teams out of his own pocket. There was one other 59 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: catch too. Douglas had to change the team's name to 60 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: the New York Renaissance as a way to promote the 61 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: dance hall with the terms to the deal was made 62 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: official on February thirteenth, nineteen twenty three, and the New 63 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: York Wrens were born. With a new name and a 64 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: permanent home. Douglas signed his players to full season contracts. 65 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: The team played its first game at the Ballroom on 66 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: November third of that year, winning twenty eight to twenty 67 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: two against an all white team. There was still a 68 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: problem though. The Renaissance casino was less popular than other 69 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: New York casinos, and its ballroom was smaller too. That 70 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: meant Douglas had to draw in customers on his own, 71 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: and he had to pack the house every night in 72 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: order to make enough money to keep the team going. 73 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: To supplement that income, the team also started barnstorming throughout 74 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: the country, playing any team that would agree to schedule them. 75 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: The Wrens had already made history as the first fully 76 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: pro all black team, and now they were breaking the 77 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: color barrier of barnstorming as well. It wasn't an easy task, though, 78 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: The players repeatedly faced discrimination on the road, with most 79 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: hotels and restaurants refusing to serve them due to Jim 80 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: Crow Laws. Renaissance player John Isaacs later reflected on that experience, 81 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: telling the New York Times quote, we would walk into 82 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: a white owned restaurant, and the best they could ever 83 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: do for us was let us eat standing in the 84 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 1: kitchen where no one else could see us. As word 85 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: of the Wrens got out, black families along the tour 86 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: route began inviting the team to stay with them, but 87 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: in some towns the safest place they could find to 88 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: sleep was the local jail. The Wrens also had to 89 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: contend with racist violence, typically from white players and fans 90 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: who were angry their team had been beaten, But no 91 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: matter what was thrown their way, the Wrens kept right 92 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:50,559 Speaker 1: on playing and winning. In nineteen twenty five, they shook 93 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: the basketball world by defeating the original Boston Celtics, the 94 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: most dominant white pro team of the era, and that 95 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: was only the beginning. Over the next decade, the Wrens 96 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 1: routinely beat the leading all white teams of their day, 97 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: many of whom had won champion titles in leagues the 98 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 1: Wrens weren't allowed to join all those early successes came 99 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: to a head in the nineteen thirty two to thirty 100 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,119 Speaker 1: three season. Led by future Hall of famers William pop 101 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: Gates and Charles Tarzan Cooper, the New York Renaissance won 102 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: an astounding eighty eight consecutive games, a record that has 103 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: never been surpassed or even matched by another pro team. 104 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 1: The Wrens winning streak wasn't an anomaly either. Between nineteen 105 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: thirty two and nineteen thirty six, the team racked up 106 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: four hundred and ninety seven wins against just fifty eight losses. 107 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: That means that over a five year span, they won 108 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 1: eighty eight percent of all the games they played. The 109 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: wrens continued success helped shift the perception of African American sports, 110 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: offering new and better opportunities for black athletes at the 111 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 1: professional level. By nineteen thirty nine, there was even one 112 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:08,840 Speaker 1: formal basketball competition that was open to all teams, regardless 113 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: of race. Held in Chicago, The World Pro Tournament gathered 114 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: the best teams from across the country. Many of the 115 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: teams from the National Basketball League were invited to compete 116 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: against other league teams as well as the best independent 117 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: Barnstorming teams such as the New York Renaissance. The Wrens 118 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: won the inaugural tournament in nineteen thirty nine, beating the 119 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: all white Oshkosh All Stars with a decisive thirty four 120 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: to twenty five. After sixteen years of dominating the competition 121 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: at exhibitions in Harlem and beyond, the Wrens could now 122 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: officially call themselves the best basketball team in the country. 123 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: Seven years after that historic game, the National Basketball Association 124 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: the NBA was formed. An interest in barnstorming basketball began 125 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: to decline from then on. The aging Wrens players could 126 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: see the writing on the wall, so in nineteen forty 127 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: nine they played their last game before disbanding. The team's 128 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: contribution to advancing black athletes in basketball was not forgotten. 129 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty three, the New York Renaissance was enshrined 130 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a team, and 131 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy two, Bob Douglas got his due when 132 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: he became the first black person to be inducted as 133 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: an individual. He had owned and coached the Rens for 134 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: their entire twenty five year run and is remembered today 135 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: as the father of black professional basketball, I'm gay blues yay, 136 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 137 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep 138 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,440 Speaker 1: up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 139 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 140 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, you can always send him my 141 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: way by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 142 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank 143 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 144 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: for another day in history class.