One unsung black sports pioneer stands out among dozens who paved the way during the Black Fives Era, and that’s a remarkable brother named Hunter Johnson.

Johnson was what they used to call an “athletic trainer.” This was a highly esteemed and important position, and he was way ahead of his time.

In the early 1900s, Johnson was the official trainer of the Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) and University of Pittsburgh football and track teams. At that time, they were elite among college sports programs.

Johnson was an expert at conditioning and physical fitness. He would later train long jumper and Pittsburgh native DeHart Hubbard to become the first black individual gold medalist, at the 1924 Olympics. (Hubbard is enshrined in the U.S.A. Track and Field Hall of Fame.)

To put Johnson in context, consider how many African American athletic trainers there are today in major sports.

For example, a quick peak at the member directory of the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA) reveals that only 7 out of 30 athletic trainers in the N.B.A. are of African descent.

I’m not saying that most of the N.B.A’s athletic trainers have to be black just because most of its players are black. But 7 out of 30 isn’t 75%.

Back to Johnson.

In 1915, he decided to leverage his considerable experience and reputation in sports to create something for the African American community of Pittsburgh.

He formed the Scholastic Athletic Association, and it was based in the city’s predominantly black Hill District.

His organization, which competed in track and basketball, was comprised of black athletes who were current or former students at local schools and colleges and soon became known as the “Scholastics.”

Their basketball team featured top young stars Frank “Frankie” Johnson, Chris Dorsey, Ray Anderson, and Gerald Allen.

Johnson was not afraid to recruit straight from high school if the talent was there. A local white newspaper reported that the Scholastics were “greatly strengthened by the signing of Forest Meshaw of North Braddock High School, where he has been starring for the past two years.” Pittsburgh’s public school system was integrated in the 1800s, a rarity among American cities.

The Scholastics were one of Pittsburgh’s best African American basketball teams until they were absorbed into the more famous Loendi Big Five squad, helping shape that team into a black basketball dynasty after World War I.

Johnson was later associated as a trainer and coach with the Monticello-Delaney Rifles, the Pittsburgh Independents, and the St. Christopher Club of Harlem.

After winning his gold medal, Hubbard had this to say about Hunter Johnson:

Hunter is quiet and seldom talks. When he speaks, men listen, because he knows whereof he speaks. Few Race people know of his work. Those who do, praise him. Here is a man who has devoted his entire life to developing athletes who have upheld the fame of the race. In return he gets nothing. That is the real spirit of self-sacrifice that will place the Race in front. Would that theer were more men like Hunter Johnson!

And yet, to truly understand this man and what was going on in America back then during the Black Fives Era, one must note that during all of this time Hunter had another job — he was also a butler.

He had a definite major purpose. His vision was clear. He was determined. He enlisted the help and support of others. He was passionate and came from his heart. Johnson knew how to make history now.

(Scholastic team photo courtesy of the Zerbie Swain Collection. Hunter Johnson photos courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, respectively.)

The thing about free throws is you better make ‘em … so here are a couple of points:

Wilmeth Sidat-Singh.

• From the looks of it, I’ll be writing a regular Black Fives article for Bounce Magazine starting with their July 2008 issue. They have issues in March, June, July, September, November. It’ll be a real honor working with Bobbito Garcia and the exceptional crew over there. I’ve always loved Bounce’s high quality approach and their message. May I please suggest that you subscribe right now so you won’t miss your July issue?!
• This week marks the start of the 36th Annual Black Invitational Basketball Tournament, which I wrote about last week. Check it out if you can … you’ll be glad you did!
• Last week (May 9) was the 65th anniversary of the death of Wilmeth Sidat-Singh. Sidat-Singh was a star basketball and football player at Syracuse University (which retired his #19 jersey in a Carrier Dome ceremony in 2005) before starring for the Rochester Seagrams, New York Rens and Washington Bears. He was also a Tuskegee Airman. While flying a routine training mission over Lake Michigan in 1943 — just 2 months after helping the Bears win the World Pro Basketball Tournament in Chicago — Sidat-Singh died after parachuting from his plunging plane, whose engine had failed.
• Remember my post about the GAF Ratio of big time college basketball programs? Well, in an upcoming post, I’m going to see if I can update that GAF (Give A F**k) Ratio with the results of last week’s N.C.A.A. report on academic progress among top college athletic programs, which resulted in sanctions for 218 Division I schools.
• The Black Fives Blog got a nice mention in the highly rated, very thoughtful, very popular Sports On My Mind blog … and it’s an honor to be named in the same sentence as The Starting Five, The Black Quarterback, and The Edge Of Sports.
• And another kind mention on the Women’s Hoops Blog from last month about the black women’s basketball history series that ran here during December, which was Black Women’s Basketball History Month …

Next week is the 36th annual Black Invitational Basketball Tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia, starting May 14.

By far, this is the most amazing basketball tournament you’ve never heard of.

Yet.

It’s run by the Provincial Black Basketball Association — the most amazing basketball organization you’ve never heard of … yet.

How do I know?

Because last year it was my honor to be invited by the P.B.B.A. to attend their 35th annual tournament so I could deliver the keynote address at their formal dinner and dance that accompanies the event — and catch some of the games.

Some of you may remember that my visit there was covered by the Halifax Chronicle Herald.

My first reaction was that I couldn’t believe the jaw-dropping talent. Their Slam Dunk Contest alone would make your head spin. (As the keynote speaker I got to be one of the judges!)

Check out the winning dunk (after a failed first try) by a superb baller nicknamed “Dipp”:

The most amazing thing about this dunk isn’t the dunk but the audience. Look at all these black people! They goin’ craaazy! And do it always be this crowded? Yes!

To get to the final, Dipp’s dunk-off and the crowd reaction the night before was just as gorgeous:

Remember, this is Nova Scotia, y’all!

First, have you ever even heard of Nova Scotia? (It’s in Canada, in its own province, East of Maine.)

All I can tell you is that it’s one of the most breathtaking places on earth. Halifax itself is a sight for soar eyes, a diamond hidden in the mist, a romantic treasure.

Nova Scotia has a surprising amount of black history.

Note that black Canadians call themselves African Americans. If you thought it was just us United States brothers up in here, you were wrong!

Nova Scotia has the largest per capita population of African Americans in all of Canada!

Why? Because it was the last stop on the Underground Railroad.

So many black folks ended up in Nova Scotia that they even created an all-black hockey league! That league, its teams , and their history are finally getting the attention they deserve — thanks to a fascinating new book called Black Ice, and ESPN’s coverage of the story.

The black community in Halifax is stunning. They’re unbelievably warm, gracious, humble, accepting, and embracing.

They look the same and dress the same (several cats were wearing Black Fives sneakers, for real!) and they even ball the same … but that’s where many of the comparisons stop.

I’m generalizing, of course, but I noticed a few things.

They’re punctual. They show up on time and events start on time. They love and respect each other and one another. Their aura and disposition are radiant and positive.

Refreshing.

There isn’t the sense of anger, bitterness, self-poison, materialistic hunger, cynicism, and “gotta get mine” desperation that we often see down here in the United States — even though they’ve endured heavy doses of racial injustice and have plenty to be enraged about.

Not surprisingly, they’re very race conscious, but without being racist. For example, tournament policy requires that only all-black teams, including coaching staffs, can be invited to compete. (It’s a government sanctioned event, which tells you something.)

Black Nova Scotians are almost too humble, seemingly unaware of what they’re sitting on … what they really have … or what they’re capable of doing. They’re like a beautiful girl who doesn’t know (or think) she’s beautiful.

And that’s what makes the black Nova Scotia experience so charming.

By the way, I made many new friends on my visit up there last year, and they’ll be friends for life — indicative of the connection and bond we shared in a short amount of time. It was like meeting my long lost cousins. Literally, I suspect.

Now, the N.B.A.’s D-League is looking at Halifax as a possible expansion site. But they don’t seem to have any idea, because they apparently don’t even know about the P.B.B.A.’s annual tournament!

However, now you do!

This tournament and the many talented Halifax ballers are going to get discovered soon, big time.

Meanwhile, you can sneak up there next week (or next year) and make the whole trip into a family basketball and sightseeing vacation.

Hmm …

I think one modern day dunk from any number of current players would smash this apparatus to bits.

A brief shout out to the Stentonworth Athletic Club of 1911, one of the first African American basketball teams in Philadelphia.

The team featured Frank Forbes, a graduate of Southern Manual Training High School (which became South Philadelphia High School in 1915) where he was a dominating all-around athlete.

“Of the school and club men, Forbes is probably the best known,” wrote John Dancy, a Philadelphia sportswriter, in 1910, “at football, baseball, and basketball he is equally adept.”

You’ll be proud too, once you check out Terrance Hayes.

He’s man who defies labels. He’s a poet. He’s a baller. He’s a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He’s a brother who’s high on consciousness. He’s a culturist. A modern day pioneer.

He’s inspiring, the kind of dude you’d wanna hang out with for a day.

All of that, and he’s also down with Black Fives — a long time fan.

So I decided to ask him a few questions one-on-one.

But before I get to that, check this out.

Hayes was featured the other day in an extensive segment on the PBS Newshour and it’s online counterpart that includes his filmed interview, extra clips of him reading some of his poems, a transcript, extended interview footage, and his bio.

If you watch carefully you can see a collectible Scholastic Athletic Association of Pittsburgh pennant by Black Fives hanging on the wall in Hayes’ office.

Some background on Hayes, from his bio on PBS.com:

Hayes attended college on a basketball scholarship.

Terrance Hayes is a professor of Creative Writing at Carnegie Mellon University and lives in Pittsburgh, Pa., with his family.

He was born in Columbia, S.C., and received a B.A. from Coker College and an M.F.A. from the University of Pittsburgh writing program.

He is the author of three books of poems: “Muscular Music” (1999); “Hip Logic” (2002, National Poetry Series winner); and “Wind in a Box” (2006).

Hayes is the recipient of many awards, including a Whiting Writers Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, a Pushcart Prize, a Best American Poetry selection, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.

I’m so jealous of his students, man, because I’d love to go back in time and have Hayes as one of my professors at Carnegie Mellon, where I attended college. I mean, what kind of a professor wears sweatshirts and Black Fives gear to work?? Damn, he’s a one-man-reason to apply to C.M.U., don’t you think?

So, here’s our one-on-one:

Terrance:
Thanks for your interest in me and my work, man. It means a lot. You and the work you do inspire me.

Claude:
Thank you! How’d you find out about Black Fives?

Terrance:
I’m not sure how I learned of the Black Fives. It was bound to float into my line of sight at some point though — basketball, black history, complex brothers — I was bound to find it because it touches so many things and ideas that are valuable to me.

Claude:
What was your first impression of this newly discovered history?

Terrance:
I was most interested in the long line of interesting folk involved with it– especially Paul Robeson. Damn, these brothers had full lives, I thought to myself the first time I went over the biographies of the players. Where’s the Black Fives movie?!

Hayes on the PBS Newshour.

Claude:
It’s coming! Could you describe what you feel about the idea of Black Fives as a brand, and what you feel about the pioneers of the Black Fives Era?

Terrance:
This is sort of connected to Robeson and to the “Harlem Renaissance” team. The brand suggests the sense of community and creativity behind so much of our history. Nowadays it’s hard to find the same depth in our groups and public figures. Most of our leaders and leading organizations never venture outside their professional areas.

But think of this: someone like Barack Obama would have played for a B5 team back in the day. (Might not have started though.) And playing would not have kept him from becoming “President Obama.” I’m wondering when we’ll have our contemporary Paul Robeson — or even a Bill Bradley– someone who excels in pro sports and goes on to excel in the socio-political arena. Maybe in football we had Jim Brown and Ali. Who do we have now?

Claude:
Good question! Is what you feel linked to your specific basketball background, or to a particular moment on the court?

Terrance:
Yeah, its linked to my background. I would not have gone to college without a basketball scholarship. When I got there my coach wanted me to be a ballplayer first. Then maybe a scholar, then possibly an artist. He wanted me to focus (limit) my interests. I didn’t feel like I had to choose one over the other. People — especially black people are complex, complicated. So I remained both an artist and a ball player and a scholar. I tried to leave my sweat on everything I did.

Black Fives is an example of how open we should be to the future, to the roads we travel. It shows how our passions, talents, and professions can and should intersect … how one man need not be one man.

Claude:
That’s deep my brother, thank you. So, what are you doing next to “make history now?”

Terrance:
Still trying to be open to the paths before me. Still balling a few days a week in the middle of writing and parenting and teaching. To make history, you have to work on your future. To work on your future you have to work on your present. Your presence.

(Photos courtesy of PBS.com.)

Continuing the thought from my blog post on Friday: Can you name some reasons why this is a beautiful sight?

I decided to put down as many of my own reasons that I could think of:

1. Any basketball hoop is a beautiful sight to a baller
2. Any basketball hoop with a net is a beautiful sight to a shooter
3. A metal chain net on a hoop is a beautiful sight because a shooter knows it’ll make a certain cha-ching sound when he connects
4. Any basketball hoop with a metal net that isn’t mangled or gnarled is a beautiful sight to any Parks & Rec director
5. The sun lighting up the backboard against a cloudy sky is a beautiful sight because it looks like a special affect
6. Any vintage buff thinks this is a beautiful sight because of the old school look and feel of the hoop, backboard, and net as a whole
7. This particular hoop just looks majestic, doesn’t it? To me, all hoops do. I find myself saying, “Yes your majesty … yes your majesty … yes your highness … right away your highness” with each made basket. Gotta acknowledge who’s the boss, right. I think a basketball hoop is like a beautiful feminine queen. She reigns over you. You rain over her.

I can’t think of any more right this second without getting way deep or out of control …

Can you?