Rucker Park - Harlem USA
120 Years of NYC Basketball
From The Playground to The Garden
This website is still under construction!
NYC Basketball: An Historical Tribute
The NYC Basketball History Project is dedicated to researching, archiving, and sharing the amazing legacy of basketball in New York City. New York is truly the Mecca of Basketball and as the game has become global we aim to create a virtual and actual location to highlight the personalities, the institutions and locations that made this game so great over the course of 120 years!
A Basketball Journey Through Time
Nate "Tiny" Archibald
Take an exciting road trip with us from the beginning. From the playgrounds and dancehalls of Harlem and Brooklyn to Madison Square Garden and Barclay Center.
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From the Original Celtics vs. the Harlem Rens to the 1970 and '74 NY Knicks who electrified the city with two NBA Championships. From PSAL, CHSAA and Summer Leagues, and ABA NY Nets.
To neighborhood heroes who challenged and often won against the Pros on outdoor courts named The Battlegrounds, Brevort, Coney Island, The Cage, and The Rucker among others!
​ An entire basketball universe that could have only been created in a city like New York!
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A Basketball Legacy Unlike Anywhere in the World
​The history of New York City basketball is an amazing story of the city itself.
​While James Naismith was busy inventing basketball up in Springfield Massachussettes, in 1891, New York was preparing for it's arrival.
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The founding of the New York City Parks Department in 1856, the Board of Education established in 1867, the original Madison Square Garden built in 1879, the PSAL for public high school sports, formed in 1903, the NYC Subway system opened in 1904, connecting the outer limits of the city.
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Frank McGuire and the 5 New Yorkers who won an NCAA title in 1957
The Renaissance Ballroom in Harlem held it's first basketball game on November 3, 1923
the CHSAA Catholic high school athletics started operating in 1927. All these events making their own special contribution to creating a phenomena whose thunder and lightning would be seen and heard around the world. New York City basketball was born!