Basketball 2

A Basketball, one of the most popular sports in the world, had humble beginnings. The person responsible for the popular game was Dr. James Naismith (1861-1939). Dr. Naismith was a CanadianAmerican Physical Education teacher at the School for Christian Workers located in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1891, under the direction of Dr. Luther Gulick, the head of the School, Naismith was given 14 days to create an indoor game. The goal of this directive was to provide a creative and healthy indoor “athletic distraction” for a rowdy class of students during the brutal New England winter.

B Naismith’s invention did not happen quickly. He struggled to come up with a game that met the objectives of his directive. At first he thought to bring outdoor games such as soccer or lacrosse inside. However, such outdoor games were not feasible due mainly to the small indoor space of the school gymnasium. Running out of time and at the limits of his patience, Naismith recalled a game he played as a child in Canada. Called “duck on a rock”, the game involved tossing rocks at another, larger rock atop a boulder and knocking the rock down. He also remembered observing rugby players throwing a ball into a box in the gymnasium. With creativity now flowing through his mind, Naismith had the idea of attaching boxes high on the wall and having players attempt to throw a ball into the box as a score. Having trouble finding boxes, Naismith used discarded peach baskets from the school cafeteria. Confronted with the problem of constantly needing someone to remove the ball from the basket, Naismith cut out the bottom of the basket, allowing the ball to fall through.

C It is believed that Naismith drew up the rules of his new game of Basketball in about an hour. Most of these rules still apply today. The game of Basketball became an instant success. The students found the game easy to play and the rules easy to understand. Moreover, the idea of getting a good exercise workout without having to go outside in the very cold winter was very attractive to the players and the coaches. The fans also liked the idea of not having to go outside in the cold to watch this new and fun game.

D Basketball became popular very quickly and its popularity spread widely. The graduates of the YMCA school travelled across the country and introduced their new game to people in towns and cities across the land. Naismith and his players disseminated the rules of Basketball freely and the need for an indoor sport by many schools and organizations helped spread the popularity of the game. Naismith never imagined or witnessed the immense popularity and huge financials of Basketball as we know it today. His biggest reward was when he was sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to witness his game of Basketball become an official Olympic sport at the 1936 Games held in Berlin. Naismith never earned money or fame for his unique invention during his lifetime. However, after his death in 1939 his many accomplishments and his historic invention of Basketball were widely and enormously acclaimed. Naismith’s name adorns the world’s only Basketball Hall of Fame.

Adapted from historybits.com