[2] 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 and norms of racial discrimination which prevailed in the northern United States at the time.
In the twenties and early thirties, their matches with the Original Celtics were basketball's greatest gate attraction.
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