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Bio:

Claude Johnson,
Founder & President
Black Fives, Inc.

Claude Johnson is the founder and president of Black Fives, Inc., a vintage sports licensing company dedicated to researching, preserving, promoting, and teaching about the history of African American basketball teams that played from the early 1900s through the integration of the National Basketball Association in 1950, a period known as the Black Fives Era.

The Black Fives brand consists of an authentic, historically accurate collection of intellectual property that includes trademarked and copyrighted team names, logos, uniform designs, player name and likeness usage rights, photograph usage rights, and related copyrighted materials. Black Fives, Inc. and its licensed merchandise, including retro jerseys, accessories, and related items, have been featured in such major media outlets as MTV, BET, ESPN, NBC, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, and Source Magazine, as well as in numerous music videos and live band appearances. The merchandise is popular with a variety of celebrities, musicians, and pro athletes including Sean Combs, Ludacris, The Roots, Andre Benjamin, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Tracy McGrady. (Click here for more about great sightings and PR.)

Claude Johnson Founder & President Black Fives, Inc.

Since forming the company in 2001, Johnson's extensive scholarly research and tireless passion for the subject has earned him recognition and praise as a foremost authority in this area. He currently is working on a book and a film documentary.

Prior to Black Fives, Johnson gained extensive work experience with management and executive positions in engineering, apparel merchandising, licensing, marketing, and sales, during a 20-year career in corporate America. Johnson’s career started in 1984 with an engineering position in the Weapons Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He joined IBM in 1985, selling computer systems to high tech businesses in the Silicon Valley and then to small firms throughout New York City . In 1990, American Express enlisted Johnson into its Executive Management Program as a manager in the company’s growing Corporate Card division.

His international background and love of sports led Johnson to the National Basketball Association in 1994, where, as Director of International Business Operations, he helped coordinate overseas activities as the league expanded its global business; Johnson was subsequently responsible for the NBA’s international consumer products licensing area. In 1997, Nike recruited Johnson to head its branded basketball apparel business as a Product Line Manager at its headquarters in Beaverton , Oregon . After achieving a 70% increase in category sales, he left Nike two years later to help care for a terminally ill family member. Johnson was engaged in various consulting projects involving marketing and licensing during this time.

In 1999, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons asked Johnson to manage the licensing arm of his Phat Farm brand as Vice President of Business Operations. Johnson left Phat Farm in 2000 to join Benetton Sportsystem as Vice President of Marketing for the company’s sports equipment businesses, Prince tennis racquets, Nordica ski gear, and Rollerblade inline skates. When Benetton sold off these brands beginning in 2001, Johnson began working full time on the creation of Black Fives.

His company recently signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Nike, Inc., allowing Nike to produce a new line of products - called the "Legacy of Inspiration Collection" - comprised of footwear, apparel, and accessories that celebrate the pioneering teams of Black Fives Era.

Johnson holds B.S. Civil Engineering and M.S. Mechanical Engineering degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University, respectively. He is an active member of the Association of Professional Basketball Researchers and the North American Society for Sport History. In addition to his engagements as a lecturer and motivational speaker at corporations, schools, colleges, historical societies, and museums, Johnson is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Greenwich Public Library, which boasts the second largest circulation of books in New England after Boston Public Library.

On the court, Johnson claims he is “underrated.”  He also admits to a weakness for Nike Air Force 1 retro basketball shoes, of which he owns a “small” collection.  The father of three lives with his family in Greenwich, CT.