The birth of basketball

Basketball is one of the most widely played and watched sports in the world. Neighborhood groups play basketball on playgrounds and in back yards. Teams play in elementary school, high school and community gyms. Skilled college and professional players attract crowds that pack huge arenas. So just how did basketball get started?

Basketball had its beginnings with James A. Naismith, its inventor, in 1891. Naismith was a physical education instructor at the International YMCA Training School, which is now Springfield College, in Springfield, Mass. The head of the school's physical education department asked him to create a team sport that could be played during the winter.

Naismith formed 13 basic rules for the game and then asked a school janitor to nail two boxes to the gymnasium balcony to be used as goals. But the janitor could find only some half-bushel baskets. Therefore, the sport became known as basketball.

In December 1891, Naismith's physical education class played the first basketball game. The class had 18 men, so each team had nine players. They used a soccer ball and, in spite of much running and shooting, scored only one basket in the game.

Word of the new game spread quickly, and basketball was soon being played by YMCA groups, high schools and colleges throughout the United States and Canada. Naismith published his original 13 rules for the game in the YMCA Training School newspaper on Jan. 15, 1892. In 1915, various rule-making groups met and developed a standard set of basketball rules.

Basketball, as played today, is basically the game Naismith invented. But many changes have been made over the years. One of the most important changes affected the baskets. During the first year of play, each time a player scored, a ladder had to be brought onto the court to recover the ball. Metal baskets quickly replaced the half-bushel baskets. Each metal basket had a hole in the bottom so the ball could be pushed out with a pole. In 1893, a net bag attached to a metal hoop was introduced. The officials pulled a cord attached to the net to pop the ball out. Baskets with bottomless cord or metal nets came into general use about 1913.

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The backboard was introduced in 1894 to prevent spectators from leaning over the balconies where the baskets were attached and interfering with the shots. Also, in that year, larger balls replaced soccer balls. These were made of leather with a rubber lining. The lining was inserted through an opening held together with laces. The molded ball used today became official in 1950.