Who Invented Basketball

Who invented the game

It may surprise you to find out that a Canadian, James Naismith was the person who invented basketball. Naismith was born in 1861 and worked in the United States as a sports and athletics coach for high school and university students. He was described as a religious man, so much so that many of the jobs he received in the United States were actually scholarly religious jobs. However, despite his career as a teacher of religion, his true passion was sports and he played a major role in the history of basketball. He was an extremely talented farm hand as a child, and was a distinguished athlete in his younger years. It is something very odd and quirky to think about, but 19th century athletes never had the chance to play modern games like basketball.

Who Invented Basketball?

James Naismith achieved a lot in his life but is known by many for being the man who invented basketball. Naismith was working at the Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA when he came up with the game. Read more…

James Naismith

Who Invented Basketball – James Naismith

Dr. James Naismith spent most of his career innovating the sports world in general and was known as the man who invented the game of basketball in particular. While most understand that Naismith was the person who invented basketball, few realize that he also had a very real impact on the sport of football, being considered the man who introduced the very first football helmet.

In 1891, Naismith, then a member of his local YMCA, wrote the first official basketball rule book and lived on to see it be adopted as an official Olympic medal sport by the IIOC in 1936.

Why is James Naismith is credit as the man who invented basketball? Read more…

History of Basketball

The history of basketball began with a Canadian physical education instructor, James Naismith in 1891. In the early days, a round, wooden peach basket was suspended to a wall with players shooting a ball into the basket to earn points. The sport could be played outside but was created as an indoor game that could be played during inclement weather.

The height of the peach basket made retrieving the ball very inconvenient and slowed down the game, since a person had to climb a stool or ladder to fetch the ball after each point was made. Naismith resolved this problem by cutting the bottom out of the basket, thus allowing the ball to freely fall through after a player scored. This action fundamentally changed the pace and excitement of the sport. Read more…