Robert L. Douglas (b. (St. Kitts) November 4, 1882 – d. (unknown) July 16, 1979) was the founder of the

New York Renaissance The New York Renaissance, also known as the Renaissance Big R Five and as the Rens, were the first black-owned, all-black, fully-professional basketball team in history, established in October 1923, by Robert "Bob" Douglas. They were named after t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team, the first fully all-black professional black-owned basketball team.

Career

Nicknamed the "Father of Black Professional Basketball", Douglas owned and coached the Rens from 1923 to 1949, guiding them to a 2,318-381 record (.859). The Rens barnstormed throughout the United States, mostly in the Midwest, and played any team that would schedule them, black or white. Traveling as far as 200 miles for a game, they often slept on the bus and ate cold meals; they were barred from many hotels and restaurants by

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

and norms of racial discrimination which prevailed in the northern United States at the time. The Rens soon became a dominant team, winning as many as 88 consecutive games during the 1932–33 season. In the twenties and early thirties, their matches with the

Original Celtics The Original Celtics were a barnstorming professional American basketball team. At various times in their existence, the team played in the American Basketball League, the Eastern Basketball League and the Metropolitan Basketball League. The te ...

were basketball's greatest gate attraction. At the

World Professional Basketball Tournament The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an annual invitational tournament held in Chicago from 1939 to 1948 and sponsored by the ''Chicago Herald American''. Many teams came from the National Basketball League (United States), National Bas ...

they won in 1939, lost to the eventual champion

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

in 1940, and finished second to the National Basketball League champion

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...

in 1948.

Accolades

He was inducted into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

as a contributor in 1972, the first African American enshrined.

References

External links

Robert L. "Bob" Douglas
at the Basketball Hall of Fame 1882 births 1979 deaths African-American sports executives and administrators Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees {{1880s-US-basketball-bio-stub