History of basketball

Basketball began with its invention in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as a less injury-prone sport than football. Naismith was a 31-year-old graduate student when he created the indoor sport to keep athletes indoors during the winters. The game became established fairly quickly and grew very popular as the 20th century progressed, first in America and then in other parts of the world. After basketball became established in American colleges, the professional game followed. The American National Basketball Association (NBA), established in 1946, grew to a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the end of the century, and basketball became an integral part of American culture.

Among other things, a game of skill is described in which balls must be thrown against a target woven from twigs, mounted high on a pole in the middle of a large playing field. There is a small reward for the player if the target is being hit.

The game of basketball as it is known today was created by Dr. James Naismith in December 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, to condition young athletes during cold months. Naismith was a physical education instructor at YMCA International Training School (now known as Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts.| Upon the request of his boss, Naismith was tasked to create an indoor sports game to help athletes keep in shape in cold weather. It consisted of peach baskets and a soccer style ball. He published 13 rules for the new game. He divided his class of eighteen into two teams of nine players each and set about to teach them the basics of his new game. The objective of the game was to throw the basketball into the fruit baskets nailed to the lower railing of the gym balcony. Every time a point was scored, the game was halted so the janitor could bring out a ladder and retrieve the ball. After a while, the bottoms of the fruit baskets were removed.

The first public basketball game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 11, 1892.

There were only thirteen rules of "basket ball":

On December 21, 1891, Naismith published rules for a new game using five basic ideas and thirteen rules. That day, he asked his class to play a match in the Armory Street court: 9 versus 9, using a soccer ball and two peach baskets. Frank Mahan, one of his students, was not so happy. He just said: "Harrumph. Another new game". Someone proposed to call it "Naismith Game", but he suggested "We have a ball and a basket: why don’t we call it basketball?"

The eighteen players were John G. Thompson, Eugene S. Libby, Edwin P. Ruggles, William R. Chase, T. Duncan Patton, Frank Mahan, Finlay G. MacDonald, William H. Davis and Lyman Archibald, who defeated George Weller, Wilbert Carey, Ernest Hildner, Raymond Kaighn, Genzabaro Ishikawa, Benjamin S. French, Franklin Barnes, George Day and Henry Gelan 1–0. The goal was scored by Chase. There were other differences between Naismith's first idea and the game played today. The peach baskets were closed, and balls had to be retrieved manually, until a small hole was put in the bottom of the peach basket to poke the ball out using a stick. Only in 1906 were metal hoops, nets and backboards introduced. In 1894 the soccer ball was replaced by a ball Naismith contacted Spalding to make.

Shortly after, Senda Berenson, instructor of physical culture at the nearby Smith College, went to Naismith to learn more about the game. Fascinated by the new sport and the values it could teach, she started to organize games with her pupils, following adjusted rules. The first official women's interinstitutional game was played just 11 months later, between the University of California and Miss Head's School. In 1899, a committee was established at the Conference of Physical Training in Springfield to draw up general rules for women's basketball. Thus, the sport quickly spread throughout America's schools, colleges and universities with uniform rules for both sexes.