New York Rens

From Hoopedia

The New York Renaissance, also known as the Renaissance Big Five, Harlem Renaissance or Rens, was an all-black professional basketball team founded in 1923 by Robert Douglas, a few years before the Harlem Globetrotters. They were named after the Harlem Renaissance Casino and Ballroom on 138th Street and Seventh Avenue, an upscale reception hall of that time, which served as their titular home court. The team actually played most of their games on the road, barnstorming across the country out of necessity because they were unable to join any professional leagues due to racial discrimination.

The team played its first game on November 30, 1923. The Rens were the dominant basketball team of the 1920's and 1930's. During the 1932-33 regular season, the Rens compiled a record of 112-8. During that season, the Rens won 88 consecutive games, a mark that has never been matched by a professional basketball team. In 1939, the Rens became the first all-black team to win a championship game, when they beat the Oshkosh All-Stars (the National Basketball League champions), 34-25, in the World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago.

The team compiled a 2588-539 record over its history. They team played its last game on March 21, 1949.

The New York Renaissance was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a team in 1963.

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