Bob Douglas

On February fifth, nineteen seventy two. Bob Douglas was the first African American coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. But what he did for the basketball world transcended just his coaching abilities, the study of it into Bob Douglas Today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide to a rapid deep dive into sports history every day. Bob Douglas is known as the father of Black professional basketball. The main reason for this moniker because he founded the New York Renaissance basketball team and he owned and coached them from nineteen twenty three to nineteen forty nine. During that span, the team enmassed an amazing two thousand, three hundred and eighteen wins versus only three hundred and eighty one losses, and included an eighty eight game winning during the thirty two season. There was two talents that really set Douglas apart, and it was his evaluation of talent in him being a businessman, Douglas took advantage of the limited opportunities that African Americans had in the sport at the time. When he was twenty five, he created two amateur basketball teams in Harlem, the Spartan Braves and the Spartan Hornets. From nineteen nineteen to nineteen twenty three, the two teams competed against other New York teams. However, because he was allowed to retain players who received money from other sports, Douglas decided to create a professional team. In nineteen twenty three. He made arrangements with the owners of the Harlem Renaissance Casino to put together a group of players called the Renaissance in return for publicizing the casino, which had opened a year earlier. The team practice and played home games at the venue. Send a perfect night of entertainment for many back then was watching championship caliber basketball and dancing without leaving the premises. They became one of the most famous basketball teams of the era, and many say it was the greatest team at the time. Mainly made up of players from New York in Philadelphia, and they would even barnstorm around the country, meaning they would go to different venues across the country touring similar to the Harlem grold Trotters today, and even faced off against the Harlem Guldrritters multiple times. But because of the gym crow laws at the time, they were limited in where they could go, where they could eat, and even where they could sleep, sometimes having to sleep on buzzes, but they would still win their games, and during the thirty two season, when they had won eighty eight consecutive games, had buzz that was going around the country and while they traveled, the teams they were playing would help them out by following them and making sure they had no issues when they would stop at a gas station or restaurant, showing that they were with them. They would not be harassed while on the road, and they were famous for how much they embraced each other before the game, not just shaking hands before the tip off, but also embracing each other. Showing love on the court and winning was the key to the Renaissance team's success. They won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in nineteen thirty nine, and in nineteen forty they lost to the Harlem Globetrotters. Eight years later, they finished second to the Minneapolis Lakers, who were the National Basketball League champions at the time. But more than the prowess of the team, the fact that Douglas owned the team, creating the schedule, getting the money for the team. Keeping the team afloat was what really set him apart. At the time, no black man had ever had the opportunity to own a major sports franchise, and this paid the way for many in the future to have that opportunity. In nineteen forty nine, the Rins were part of the National Basketball League and were relegated to Dayton, Ohio, and later folded that year as the league was being merged with the NBA, who at the time were an all white league and wouldn't allow them to play an unfortunate end to a historic team. It's crazy to think about how they played the Globetrotters at the time, two historical black teams. It would have been great to see them continue their greatness together instead of only seeing the Globetrotters continue. In nineteen seventy nine, Bob Douglas passed away in New York, but he was always remembered for the greatness he gave to basketball in the black community and to serve to be called fam Thank you for joining us for today's Daily sports History. We'd love to hear from you. You can contact us at Daily Sportshistory at gmail dot com. If you have ideas for episodes, or want to be a part of our community and come back tomorrow for more daily sports history.