How Was Basketball Invented?

Introduction

     Do you like basketball? Have you ever watched basketball on TV? Did you ever want to play basketball? 

     The sport of basketball has been around a long time, but somebody had to invent it and play the first game. How was basketball invented? Read on to find out. 

Who is James Naismith?

   Basketball was invented in 1891 by a physical education teacher named James Naismith while working at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. James Naismith was a Canadian-American physical education director who invented the game of basketball. Mr. Naismith was born on November 6, 1861, and graduated from McGill University in 1887.

Peach Baskets and Soccer Balls

     Before the game of basketball was invented, there was no such thing as a basketball and there was also no such thing as a basketball hoop and net. So what did they use instead?

    James Naismith used a soccer ball and two peach baskets as goals in the first game of basketball. Mr. Naismith develped a tossing game by putting a basket at either end of the gym. He approached the school janitor hoping he could find two square boxes for goals. When the janitor came back, he had two peach baskets instead. 

     So the first game of basketball had peach baskets. Mr. Naismith nailed two half bushel peach baskets onto the balcony in the gym, which happened to be 10 feet above the ground., This gave the sport its name. The students learned the rules that their gym teacher Mr. Naismith had written, and the game of basketball was born.    

Most Popular Indoor Sport

     James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 while at the YMCA school. Luther H. Gulick had asked his students to devise a game that could be played indoors in the winter. The first basketball game was played by Mr. Naismith's YMCA class on December 21, 1891 was a soccer ball and peach baskets.

     The first public basketball game took place on March 11, 1892 in Springfield, Massachusetts. People spread the new game, and many associations wrote to Mr. Naismith for a copy of the rules that were first published on January 15,1892. 

     Men started playing basketball at the college level in the early 1890s. The first women's basketball team started at Smith College in Massachusetts in 1892.

     Basketball became a popular sport throughout the United States, and today it is the world’s most popular sport played indoors. 

How Basketball Changed Over the Years

       Mr. Naismith invented 13 original rules for the game of "basket ball."  The first game of basketball used a soccer ball and peach baskets. Later, basketballs were made of leather like footballs. The real hoop was not invented until 1906. 

  The original rules did not say how many people were on a team. Today, there are two teams with five players on the court at one time. There are other players on the bench waiting to play. 

     James Naismith didn't create all of today's rules, but over the years the rules were modified.  Other rules were added such as being able to walk or run with the ball while dribbling it. Rebounds are balls that bounce off the backboard of a shot that has been missed.

    For many years, a basket made from any spot on the court was worth two points and a foul shot was worth one point. In 1979 the three-point shot started in the NBA for long shots that were about 23 feet away from the basket.

    Some of James Naismith's original rules are still part of the game. In 2010, James Nasismith's original rules were sold at an auction for $4.3 million.