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How has basketball changed since 1891
Here's the history of basketball—from peach baskets in Springfield to global phenomenon
James Naismith, a Canadian American physical educator and innovator, invented the game of basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891 to keep his students active during the winter. The game was an immediate success and the original American sport spread instantly to other colleges and YMCAs. Naismith is pictured here with his wife Maude Evelyn Sherman Naismith.
Photograph via Agefotostock / Alamy Stock Photo
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The nets used by athletes to dunk the ball and score points in the beloved game of basketball evolved from peaches, or rather the baskets used to collect peaches.
That’s what a young athletic director ultimately used on a cold day back in 1891 for a new game he created to keep his students engaged.
James Naismith was a 31-year old graduate student teaching physical education at the International YMCA Training School, now known as Springfield College, in Springfield, Massachusetts when students were forced to stay indoors for days due to a New England storm. The usual winter athletic activities were marching, calisthenics, and apparatus work but they weren’t nearly as thrilling as football or lacrosse which were played during the warmer seasons.
James Naismith, the creator of basketball, stands with the 1899 University of Kansas basketball team.
Photography via Florida Historical 1A / Alamy Stock Photo
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Naismith wanted to create a game that would be simple to understand but complex enough to be interesting. The game had to be playable indoors, and it had to accommodate several players at once. The game also needed to provide plenty of exercise for the students, yet without the physicality of football, soccer, or rugby since those would threaten more severe injuries if played in a confined space. (See 100 years of football in pictures.)
Naismith approached the school janitor, hoping he could find two square boxes to use for goals. When the janitor came back from his search, he had two peach baskets instead. Naismith nailed the peach baskets to the lower rail of the gymnasium balcony, one on each side. The height of that lower balcony rail happened to be 10 feet. The students would play on teams to try to get the ball into their team’s basket. A person was stationed at each end of the balcony to retrieve the ball from the basket and put it back into play.
The first game ever played between students was a complete brawl.
Two boys stand on the first basketball court in the gymnasium of the School for Christian Workers, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1900s.
Photograph via. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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“The boys began tackling, kicking and punching in the crunches, they ended up in a free for all in the middle of the gym floor before I could pull them apart,” Naismith said during a January 1939 radio program on WOR in New York City called We the People, his only known recording. “One boy was knocked out. Several of them had black eyes and one had a dislocated shoulder.” Naismith said. “After that first match, I was afraid they'd kill each other, but they kept nagging me to let them play again so I made up some more rules.”
The humble beginnings of the only professional sport to originate in the United States laid the foundation for today’s multi-billion-dollar business. The current National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) March Madness college basketball tournament includes the best 68 of more than 1,000 college teams, stadiums that seat tens of thousands of spectators and lucrative television contracts.
Details of the original 1891 copy of the rules of "Basket Ball" are presented at Sotheby's auction house December 3, 2010 in New York City. The two-page document sold for $4.3 million.
Photograph by Chris Hondros, Getty Images
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Original rules of the game
Naismith didn’t create all of the rules at once, but continued to modify them into what are now known as the original 13 rules. Some are still part of the modern game today. Naismith’s original rules of the game sold at auction in 2010 for $4.3 million.
In the original rules: The ball could be thrown in any direction with one or both hands, never a fist. A player could not run with the ball but had to throw it from the spot where it was caught. Players were not allowed to push, trip or strike their opponents. The first infringement was considered a foul. A second foul would disqualify a player until the next goal was made. But if there was evidence that a player intended to injure an opponent, the player would be disqualified for the whole game.
Umpires served as judges for the game, made note of fouls and had the power to disqualify players. They decided when the ball was in bounds, to which side it belonged, and managed the time. Umpires decided when a goal had been made and kept track of the goals.
If a team made three consecutive fouls, the opposing team would be allowed a goal.
A goal was made when the ball was thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stayed there. If the ball rested on the edges, and the opponent moved the basket, it would count as a goal. When the ball went out of bounds, it was thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. The person throwing the ball was allowed five seconds; if he held it longer, the ball would go to the opponent. In case of a dispute, an umpire would throw the ball straight into the field. If any side persisted in delaying the game, the umpire would call a foul on that side.
The length of a game was two 15-minute halves, with five minutes' rest between. The team making the most goals within the allotted time was declared the winner. If a game was tied, it could be continued until another goal was made.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Left: University of Kansas women's basketball team members Marcella Morewitz, left, and Grace Endicott get expert coaching from Dr. James Naismith, a member of the university's faculty and inventor of basketball, in 1926.
Photograph by George Rinhart, Corbis/Getty Images
Right: Olivia Nelson-Ododa (#20) of the University of Connecticut Huskies goes up for a basket against Digna Strautmane (#45) of the Syracuse Orange during the second round of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome on March 23, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. UCONN won the game and advanced to the Sweet 16. The Huskies have won more NCAA championships than any other women's basketball team in the nation. They cut down the nets, an honor for the winning team, in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.
Photograph by Carmen Mandato, Getty Images
First public games
The first public game of basketball was played in a YMCA gymnasium and was recorded by the Springfield Republican on March 12th, 1892. The instructors played against the students. Around 200 spectators attended to discover this new sport they had never heard of or seen before. In the story published by the Republican, the teachers were credited with “agility” but the student’s “science” is what led them to defeat the teachers 5-1.
Within weeks the sport’s popularity grew rapidly. Students attending other schools introduced the game at their own YMCAs. The original rules were printed in a college magazine, which was mailed to YMCAs across the country. With the colleges’ well-represented international student body the sport also was introduced to many foreign nations. High schools began to introduce the new game, and by 1905, basketball was officially recognized as a permanent winter sport.
The first intercollegiate basketball game between two schools is disputed, according to the NCAA. In 1893, two school newspaper articles were published chronicling separate recordings of collegiate basketball games facing an opposing college team.
In 1892, less than a year after Naismith created the sport, Smith College gymnastics instructor Senda Berenson, introduced the game to women’s athletics. The first recorded intercollegiate game between women took place between Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley in 1896.
With the sport’s growth in popularity, it gained notice from the International Olympic Committee and was introduced at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis as a demonstration event. It wasn’t until 1936 that basketball was recognized as a medal event. Women’s basketball wasn’t included as an Olympic medal event until the 1976 Montreal games. (Wheelchair basketball in Cambodia changed these women's lives.)
Jim Baechtold (10) of the New York Knickerbockers and Bob Brannum (18) of the Boston Celtics try to get a rebound in the first quarter of a March 16, 1954 NBA playoff game at the Boston Garden. Others in the picture are Celtics Chuck Cooper (11) center, and Bob Cousy (14) left. In 1950, Cooper was the first Black basketball player drafted by an NBA team.
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As the sport continued its rapid spread, professional leagues began to form across the United States. Basketball fans cheered on their new hometown teams. The first professional league was the National Basketball League (NBL) formed in 1898, comprised of six teams in the northeast. The league only lasted about five years. After it dissolved in 1904, the league would be reintroduced 33 years later in 1937 with an entirely new support system, with Goodyear, Firestone, and General Electric corporations as the league owners, and 13 teams.
While professional sports leagues gained nationwide attention, college basketball was also a major fixture. The first NCAA tournament, which included eight teams, was held in 1939 at Northwestern University. The first collegiate basketball national champion was the University of Oregon. The team defeated Ohio State University.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Left: Villagers watch a basketball game at Yangping Village in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, China on July 12, 2020.
Photograph by Shi Yunping, VCG / Getty Images
Right: Oklahoma City Thunder player Steven Adams (12) rebounds in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 21, 2019.
Photograph by Greg Nelson, Sports Illustrated / Getty Images
Like most of the United States in the early to mid 1900s, basketball was segregated. The sport wouldn’t be integrated until 1950 when Chuck Cooper was drafted by the Boston Celtics. Prior to Cooper being drafted there were groups of black teams across the country, commonly known as “the black fives”, which referred to the five starting players on a basketball team. All-black teams were often referred to as colored quints or Negro cagers. The teams flourished in New York City, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, and in other cities with substantial African American populations. They were amateur, semi-professional, and professional.
Of the more than 1,000 collegiate basketball teams across all divisions of the NCAA, 68 teams play in the annual March Madness tournament. The best college teams from each conference around the country compete for a place in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four and, ultimately, the national championship. Though basketball might not be played the same way as it was when Naismith invented it—peach baskets have been replaced with nets, metal hoops and plexiglass blackboards—its evolution proves that the game has transcended a century.
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How Has Basketball Changed Over 125 Years? Here Are The 13 Original Rules | by NBA Referees
Today is a special day in the history of basketball. On this day, December 21st, in 1891, the first basketball game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Created by Canadian-born Dr. James Naismith, basket ball, had 13 original rules. The sport has evolved and modified in many ways over the past 125 years, but today’s rules have the same fundamental principles as Naismith intended in 1891.
Dr. James Naismith earned his degree in Physical Education from McGill University before departing to America in 1890. Later that year, he enrolled at Springfield College in Massachusetts, known at the time as the YMCA Training School. During his second year of graduate school, Naismith attended a Psychology of Play seminar taught by Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick, the superintendent of physical education at the College. Gulick tasked the attendees with creating a non-violent game that could be played indoors during the cold winter months. The original intention of the new game was to keep restless students in shape in between the fall and spring sports seasons.
In the fall of 1891, after modifying several other sports including a childhood game called duck on a rock, basket ball was born. Originally, basket ball had 13 rules and was played with two peach baskets as goals. There was only 1 point scored in the first game in Springfield.
One of the biggest differences between Naismith’s game 125 years ago and basketball today is that the original game had no dribbling. Players had to throw the ball from the spot on which they caught it, allowing the man in motion catching the ball just a few steps. Another difference was that if either team committed three consecutive fouls, it counted as a “goal” for the opponent. Although this rule no longer exists, if either team commits five fouls in a quarter, the offending team is in the penalty and the fouled team has the opportunity to shoot free throws.
Although, the game has greatly advanced — now played in over 200 countries — from its first days in 1891, the authenticity of Naismith’s original idea has endured. See the original 13 rules below:
1. The Ball may be thrown in any direction by one or both hands.
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist).
3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for man who catches the ball when running, if he tries to stop.
4. The ball must be held by the hands; the arms or body must not be used for holding it.
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of the rule by any player shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole game, no substitute allowed.
6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violation of rules 3, 4, and such as described in rule 5.
7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul. )
8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds it shall be thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds; if he holds it longer it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that team.
10. The umpire shall be the judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have the power to disqualify men according to rule 5.
11. The referee shall be the judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made, and keep account of the goals, with any other duties that are usually performed by the referee.
12. The time shall be two 15-minute halves, with 5 minutes rest between.
13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In case of a draw, the game may be by mutual agreement, be continued until another goal is made.
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This Day in History December 21, 1891 - First Basketball Game - EADaily, December 21, 2016 - Society. News, USA News
On December 21, 1891, the first ever basketball game was played in the Christian Youth Association Training Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. The game was invented by physical education teacher James Naismith.
Among the immediate predecessors of basketball, the children's game “duck on the rock”, common in the 19th century in some countries, with which James Naismith was well acquainted, is often cited: by throwing a small stone, the player had to hit the top of another, larger one, with it, stone. According to Naismith's biographers, it was at the moment of playing "duck on the rock" in the head of young James that the "concept of basketball" was born in general terms.
The game finally matured when Dr. Naismith began teaching anatomy and physical education at the YMCA International Youth Training College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith noticed that winter gymnastics classes in the hall seemed too monotonous to students, and decided to occupy them with some new outdoor game of dexterity and coordination that could be played indoors - and relatively small in size. At different ends of the gym, two fruit baskets (in English “basket”, hence the name of the new game) were attached to the balcony that encircled it along the perimeter. The height from the floor to the edge of the balcony turned out to be 3 m 5 cm, which became the standard that is maintained to this day on all basketball courts in the world. The students had to hit the ball into the basket. And so basketball was born.
The first officially recorded basketball game took place on December 21, 1891 - this date is considered the unofficial birthday of basketball. The game was not quite usual from a modern point of view. So, there were 9 people in Naismith's teams (the doctor simply divided the group of his students equally), and they played with a soccer ball. The news of the new sports game spread all over America, and soon the college where Naismith taught began to receive many letters, the authors of which asked to send them the rules of the game.
On January 15, 1892, James Naismith first published the rules of basketball in the Springfield College newspaper The Triangle. In 1892, the first Basketball Rules Book was published, containing 13 clauses, many of which are still in force today. Although in some ways "Naismith's rules" differ from modern ones.
Gradually, the popularity of the new game began to gain momentum. In 1893, the baskets were replaced with iron rings with a net. In 1894, the first official basketball rules were published in the United States. In 189In the year 5, shields were installed and the first official competitions in this sport were held. In 1897, the team was limited to 5 players.
In the 1920s, national basketball federations began to be actively created, and the first international meetings were held.
When the janitor came back from his search, he had two peach baskets instead. Naismith nailed the peach baskets to the lower rail of the gymnasium balcony, one on each side. The height of that lower balcony rail happened to be 10 feet. The students would play on teams to try to get the ball into their team’s basket. A person was stationed at each end of the balcony to retrieve the ball from the basket and put it back into play.
“One boy was knocked out. Several of them had black eyes and one had a dislocated shoulder.” Naismith said. “After that first match, I was afraid they'd kill each other, but they kept nagging me to let them play again so I made up some more rules.”
Some are still part of the modern game today. Naismith’s original rules of the game sold at auction in 2010 for $4.3 million.
If the ball rested on the edges, and the opponent moved the basket, it would count as a goal. When the ball went out of bounds, it was thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. The person throwing the ball was allowed five seconds; if he held it longer, the ball would go to the opponent. In case of a dispute, an umpire would throw the ball straight into the field. If any side persisted in delaying the game, the umpire would call a foul on that side.
James Naismith, a member of the university's faculty and inventor of basketball, in 1926.
The instructors played against the students. Around 200 spectators attended to discover this new sport they had never heard of or seen before. In the story published by the Republican, the teachers were credited with “agility” but the student’s “science” is what led them to defeat the teachers 5-1.
In 1950, Cooper was the first Black basketball player drafted by an NBA team.
All-black teams were often referred to as colored quints or Negro cagers. The teams flourished in New York City, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, and in other cities with substantial African American populations. They were amateur, semi-professional, and professional.
See the original 13 rules below:
)
He shall decide when a goal has been made, and keep account of the goals, with any other duties that are usually performed by the referee.
More and more fields of activity are under the influence, ranging from science and politics to art and sports. Methodically and scrupulously, ideas are being planted in our heads that homosexuality is not only normal, but also good. Being transgender is a gift that every adult and child should definitely use. Violence is a casual glance at the opposite sex, and racism is the desire of a white man to have the same rights as a black man who calls for his exclusivity because of a 400-year-old resentment. How do you like such an imposed equality in which you will never be equal? They talk about tolerance for a different worldview, but fiercely and zealously fight for their own. They call the minority the majority, hiding behind the assessment of human rights and freedoms. 
Marriage of convenience or Chinese wisdom? 
" In this article, using basketball-reference (at the end I realized that the statistics there may not be the most accurate, but it accurately reflects the essence and trends), Excel and, of course, science, I looked at how many minutes our domestic professional clubs allocated to Russian players for the game. And those minutes were few. In fact, our top clubs were ready to give the Russians only a quarter of the total playing time. I also looked at how many young basketball players the teams are using. And, surprise, there weren't too many of them. I also looked at the budgets of the clubs and made sure that everyone already knows that basketball in Russia lives purely thanks to sponsorship money and donations. 
Today I will try to fully review all the actions and significant statements that have been made this year. So without further preludes, let's get started! 
How and for what they put the players behind bars in the country of the all-seeing eye, in which the logs are stubbornly ignored. 90,031 of the League's strongest rookies that year, whose talent Phoenix hoped in vain. For six incomplete seasons, the seven-footer managed to play for the Suns, Detroit and San Antonio. As part of the Bad Boys, being a passenger of a famous squad, he even won the NBA championship 1990. True, he never found fame anywhere, only periodically appearing on the court, dropping out of the Spurs rotation in his last professional year. Bedford got hooked on drugs, never being able to reveal his potential. After finishing his career from 1996 to 1997, he was arrested twice for possession of illegal substances. Four years later, he was charged with transporting 25 pounds (per minute, 11kg) of marijuana to Michigan, after which he was detained twice more, and in 2003 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Bedford was released early after 8 years. In freedom, William got a job as a coach for local basketball players in Memphis.
Naismith noticed that winter gymnastics classes in the hall seemed too monotonous to students, and decided to occupy them with some new outdoor game of dexterity and coordination that could be played indoors - and relatively small in size. At different ends of the gym, two fruit baskets (in English “basket”, hence the name of the new game) were attached to the balcony that encircled it along the perimeter. The height from the floor to the edge of the balcony turned out to be 3 m 5 cm, which became the standard that is maintained to this day on all basketball courts in the world. The students had to hit the ball into the basket. And so basketball was born. 
The news of the new sports game spread all over America, and soon the college where Naismith taught began to receive many letters, the authors of which asked to send them the rules of the game. 
