Naismith: A Very Brief History Of Basketball

During the winter of 1892 in a town in Massachusetts a physical education teacher, Dr. James Naismith, at a YMCA school created a game where young men could play indoors aside from going outside in the freezing cold. To be prepared for the game, Dr. Naismith came up with some rules for the game, gathered two peach baskets for hoops, a soccer ball, and coached the first basketball game in history.

Professional basketball started to develop. As said by Reema “Teams flourished across the country throughout the 1920s. There were thousands of men's professional basketball teams in towns and cities all over the United States. Sometimes Players jumped from team to team and teams played in different cities. Leagues sometimes came and went”(slide 9). Many teams started to develop like the Celtics and the Harlem Globetrotters.

“According anywhere from Australia to the United States and everywhere in between the game of basketball is played.” (Faurschou, “History of basketball”). The game is played anywhere where you can get a ball and something to throw the ball through. “G.L Pierce patented basketball on June 25, 1929.” (Bellis, “Basketball-James Naismith”). Basketball became an official Olympic sport in the 1936 game.

Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1839. The objective was to throw the basketball into fruit baskets strapped to the railing of the gym balcony. As you can see the game of basketball has changed tons over the years and continues to grow.

The National Basketball Association, or NBA has grown up over the last few decades. Once on the verge of collapse, and unwanted by television, the NBA has rebounded to become quite possibly the most popular league in the nation. It was through television that the league finally established itself as a worthy opponent to Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The NBA got its first television exposure during the 1953-54 season on the long-since folded DuMont network. At that time, baseball was still the national pastime, and pro football was beginning to take the spotlight as the favorite sport. Even college basketball was

We can all agree that basketball is almost becoming popular around the world. So many people play this sport but do people know how basketball started and how it evolute throughout the years since basketball was borned? So like every other sports and creations, there has to be a inventor and in basketball there was a man by the name of Dr. James Naismith. “Created in 1891 in a Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA gymnasium has grown into a game played worldwide by more than 300 million people”(historybits.com). So this game has been out for a very long period of time with many changing of the rules in basketball throughout the history. When it was first played in the late 1800s, there were different rules and even different looking basketball. As for the rules, originally there would be 10 people on the court but it first started with 18 people on the court which after couple of years it changed to only 10 people. Substitution was also different and the rule for this was at first no one can enter until the next game. “The rule was changed in 1920 to allow a player to re-enter the game one time. In 1934, the rule was expanded to allow players to re-enter the game twice, and, in 1945 the rule was finally changed to permit players to return to the game an unlimited number of times”(hooptactics.com). The first basketball looked very alike a football but round. The backboards were made out of straight wood and the baskets were made out of peach baskets or square boxes. There was only

Instead, an organization was created for basketball, the National Basketball League, founded in 1937. Much later, in 1946, the NBL joined with the Basketball Association of America, (founded in 1946) to create what we now know as the National Basketball Association (NBA). Basketball games were enjoyed by many people, because of how little it changed. They were able to enjoy a favorite sport, without having to adjust to any differences (Gray, “Sport of the 1940s”).

Because it was so hard to get the ball through the hoops, there were other objects as well. Players could hit one of the six markers along the sides of the court. Or, they would be given points for other skillful plays. Fouls were also given if the players couldn't get the ball across the center line, or if they touched the ball with the wrong part of the body, such as the hand or calf

In the United States, the National Basketball League is the first professional basketball league. The NBL and the ABL did not find success in passing on basketball to national thought at a vital city level. Once the NBA was established, basketball was then considered a popular professional sport in the country.

Basketball has become a popular sport in America and has a lot of history . Basketball has expanded and is played internationally.The NBA was formed in June 6, 1946, New York City, NY .The NBA is an abbreviation to The National Basketball Association . The National Basketball Association is the highest basketball professional league and its location is in America . The NBA pays its players a salary that the team and the player agree to .The NBA can pay a player's minimum which is $490,180 to a max deal, which is at max $35,000,000.00

In December of 1891, James Naismith, a physical education instructor, introduced his gymnastics class at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts his uncharted invention composed of nailed peach baskets at both ends of the gym and a soccer ball (NBA Hoops Online). As Naismith explains, the background behind it was: “It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play ‘Drop the Handkerchief.” Indeed, due to his act, it met one ends need not by accident but as an aspiration. Furthermore, Naismith had generated a list of 13 rules which would administer this unique game (Basketball For Dummies). Because the approach of the game was foreign to his students, they played for 30 minutes with the final score of 1 to 0 (NBA

He thought of old childhood games, such as duck on a rock. The goal was to throw a stone at the “duck” (rock) and try to knock it over first. Then, he got an idea. At this point, there were only two days left to finish making up this sport, so he didn’t have enough time to come up with new equipment. He needed a goal and a ball. For the goal, he decided to use a peach basket. At that time, he just decided to use a soccer ball to throw in the peach baskets. He set up the peach baskets and explained the rules. Soon, the gym was full of people watching, and playing. Everyone was having a great time. Basketball was invented on December 21, 1891, when James was at the age of thirty. Then, teams started forming around town. Women started playing. Then, it started to become a popular sport throughout America. A few years after, basketball started evolving. The baskets were now made of rope. The backboard was added.

Basketball has been around for about one hundred and twenty five years and over twenty six million Americans play basketball. It began on December 1, 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith. They started to play the game at an International Training School of the Young Men’s Christian Association known as the YMCA. He invented the game trying to keep young athletes in shape during the cold. It consisted of 9 players on each team. Also they used peach baskets and a soccer style ball. The objective of the game was to throw the basketball into the fruit basket. I think that because so many people around the world play basketball, they should know how the game was originally played!

Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball in 1891. Women’s basketball began in the winter of 1892 at Smith College when a physical education teacher began teaching young women the game of basketball. However, women’s college basketball has come a long way since then. I will explain how the game of basketball is played and the life of a women’s college basketball player at the University of Wisconsin- River Falls.

Main Point: The game of basketball was created as something for people to do in the winter with the time off between football season and