April 13, 2007

This month, the Basketball Hall of Fame remembers basketball's golden years. From wool jerseys and canvas hi-tops to lace-up basketballs and two-handed set shots, the sport that Dr. Naismith invented in 1891 has come a long way. Be sure to check back each month for a new Hall of Fame feature!

Step back in time for a moment.

Back to the days before ESPN and March Madness.

Imagine if you will the nightly highlight reel riddled with outlandish nicknames like "Tarzan" Cooper, "Caveman" Barlow, and "Poison Joe" Brennan. Okay, so there were no highlight reels in the early days but basketball's pioneers - whether christened Tarzan, Caveman, or something more divine like the Heavenly Twins - played an important role in shaping the game today.

If today's college and professional game is the essence of sports entertainment, then its forefather was the game played by the men and women who crisscrossed the country playing basketball during the 1920s and 1930s. Called barnstormers, they were so named after the stunt aerialists of the 1920s who exhibited creativity and showmanship while engaging in death defying stunts in airplanes. Basketball barnstormers also demonstrated creativity and showmanship but with feet planted firmly on the hardwood. Teams such as the New York Rens, the Original Celtics, the Philadelphia SPHAs, the New York Whirlwinds, and others made their mark as successful and entertaining barnstorming teams during the 1920s and 1930s.

Barnstorming was one of the best ways to play the game and make money doing so. Living by their reputation, barnstorming teams traveled across the country playing local teams and then immediately pounding the pavement looking for the next town, the next team, and the next paycheck.

Known for their innovative razzle-dazzle playing style, barnstormers stoked basketball enthusiasm while bringing professional excitement to small towns nationwide.

One of the first notable barnstorming teams was the Original Celtics. Formed as a local neighborhood team playing out of the Hudson Guild Settlement House in Hell's Kitchen prior to World War I as the New York Celtics, the team would emerge from the war years as the Original Celtics under new owners, Jim and Tom Furey. The Celtics were prolific gamers, always in search of another battle. In 1922-23, the team played in 13 states and in 114 different cities before 500,000 spectators.

According to one contemporary newspaper reporter, "Their remarkable ability to pass, pivot, cut, shoot, and the exhibition of flawless team work that they invariably display is a revelation of the possibilities of the game to fans and players alike." They played on all sorts of courts, any style referee, one or two-hand dribble, hard or soft inflated ball. Playing with only six or seven men and playing at least a game a day and sometimes two or three, there was little opportunity to rest. And they played in cages, courts surrounded by wire netting to protect them from overzealous fans.

Future Hall of Famers John Beckman, Dutch Dehnert, Nat Holman, and Joe Lapchick were just a few of the players who donned the Celtics uniform showcasing their talents and entertaining crowds across the country often playing more than 150 games a year.

Just as prolific as the Original Celtics, another barnstorming team traces its roots to the Mecca of basketball. The New York Rens, so named for the Harlem Renaissance Casino, were founded by Robert L. Douglas in 1922. The second story ballroom of the Harlem Renaissance Casino served as the Rens home court, but the all-black five rarely played there. Instead, they became barnstormers out of necessity as no existing pro league was willing to accept a black team into its ranks.

While on the road the Rens faced intense racial discrimination and were often refused lodging and food. In the Midwest, the team would use Chicago or Indianapolis as its headquarters and drive 200 miles to play a game, drive back to sleep, and then do it all over the next day. Nevertheless, during their 27-year existence the Rens would become a Hall of Fame team, compiling a 2588-539 record, winning 88 straight games in one remarkable 86-day stretch from 1932 to 1933. In 1939, the Rens defeated the National Basketball League champion Oshkosh All-Stars, 34-25, to win the first ever World Professional Basketball Tournament.

Future Hall of Famers Charles "Tarzan" Cooper and "Pop" Gates were two of the many African-American ball players who would don the Rens' jersey. Cooper was noted for his ability to pull down rebounds, start the fast break and score from the outside. Gates was considered one of the nation's finest basketball players. He was an offensive threat as well as a defensive specialist and a strong rebounder.

Another prominent barnstorming team during this era was the Philadelphia SPHAs, an acronym for the organization that sponsored them, the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association. Founded in 1918 by yet another future Hall of Famer, Eddie Gottlieb, the SPHAs competed against amateur and professional teams throughout the 1920s and joined the American Basketball League in 1933. The SPHAs would go on to capture seven ABL titles in 13 years. The team's uniform tops featured a samach, pey, hey and aleph-Hebrew letters spelling SPHAs-and a Jewish star. The back of the uniforms said Hebrews!

Barnstorming was not limited to men's teams. Two of the earliest all-female, all-black basketball teams were the Philadelphia Tribune Girls, led by Ora Mae Washington, and the Chicago Romas, led by Isadore Channels. They played six players to a side and had a defensive and an offensive team because it was believed women needed this extra help because of inferior stamina and agility.

One of the most colorful women's barnstorming teams was the All-American Red Heads. These women, out of Missouri, played full court and by men's rules. Traveling across the country, they would play against men, performing special ball-handling routines and trick shots. The Red Heads would play right on through the 1980s.