levon1975 wrote:

On Sunday evening PCNC had Claude Johnson the author of "The Black Fives" speaking for several hours about the story of the founding fathers of basketball.  Pittsburgh was one of the hubs in the formation of the first teams in this new sport, and Cumberland Posey was at the forefront of this development.  Posey who lived in Homestead and was the son of a prominent Steamboat Engineer and brilliant developer is also renowned in Pittsburgh Sports for founding the Homestead Grays and of course also played for Duquesne University for three seasons.  There seems to be some doubt as to whether Posey ever actually attended classes at Duquesne.  Posey could have most likely followed his fathers footsteps in becoming an engineer but chose to be one of the first sports entrepreneurs in the nation. Johnson also discussed Chick Davies prominently, since he actually grew up in Homestead not far from Posey.  Davies played for a Jewish Five and of course we know became a pretty fair coach who brought Chuck Cooper and other great black and white players to Duquesne.   I'm going to pick up Johnson's book and continue where he left off in the broadcast.  

I saw Claude Johnson do a talk at Heinz History Center when the book came out last year. It was an outstanding evening of great stories.  He really did his research.

I listened to a lengthy podcast with the author based on the lecture
Styles attended & found it enthralling. I think it can be found on the Heinz History website.

I found the book to be a bit of a slog. It is jam packed with info but not exactly a  page turner. The podcast was much more compelling. The author is a fine speaker.