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How was basketball originated
Where Basketball was Invented: The History of Basketball
Where Basketball Originated
It was the winter of 1891-1892. Inside a gymnasium at Springfield College (then known as the International YMCA Training School), located in Springfield, Mass., was a group of restless college students. The young men had to be there; they were required to participate in indoor activities to burn off the energy that had been building up since their football season ended. The gymnasium class offered them activities such as marching, calisthenics, and apparatus work, but these were pale substitutes for the more exciting games of football and lacrosse they played in warmer seasons.
James Naismith, The Person Who Invented Basketball
The instructor of this class was James Naismith, a 31-year-old graduate student. After graduating from Presbyterian College in Montreal with a theology degree, Naismith embraced his love of athletics and headed to Springfield to study physical education—at that time, a relatively new and unknown academic discipline—under Luther Halsey Gulick, superintendent of physical education at the College and today renowned as the father of physical education and recreation in the United States.![]()
As Naismith, a second-year graduate student who had been named to the teaching faculty, looked at his class, his mind flashed to the summer session of 1891, when Gulick introduced a new course in the psychology of play. In class discussions, Gulick had stressed the need for a new indoor game, one “that would be interesting, easy to learn, and easy to play in the winter and by artificial light.” No one in the class had followed up on Gulick’s challenge to invent such a game. But now, faced with the end of the fall sports season and students dreading the mandatory and dull required gymnasium work, Naismith had a new motivation.
Two instructors had already tried and failed to devise activities that would interest the young men. The faculty had met to discuss what was becoming a persistent problem with the class’s unbridled energy and disinterest in required work.
During the meeting, Naismith later wrote that he had expressed his opinion that “the trouble is not with the men, but with the system that we are using.
” He felt that the kind of work needed to motivate and inspire the young men he faced “should be of a recreative nature, something that would appeal to their play instincts.”
Before the end of the faculty meeting, Gulick placed the problem squarely in Naismith’s lap.
“Naismith,” he said. “I want you to take that class and see what you can do with it.”
So Naismith went to work. His charge was to create a game that was easy to assimilate, yet complex enough to be interesting. It had to be playable indoors or on any kind of ground, and by a large number of players all at once. It should provide plenty of exercise, yet without the roughness of football, soccer, or rugby since those would threaten bruises and broken bones if played in a confined space.
Much time and thought went into this new creation. It became an adaptation of many games of its time, including American rugby (passing), English rugby (the jump ball), lacrosse (use of a goal), soccer (the shape and size of the ball), and something called duck on a rock, a game Naismith had played with his childhood friends in Bennie’s Corners, Ontario.
Duck on a rock used a ball and a goal that could not be rushed. The goal could not be slammed through, thus necessitating “a goal with a horizontal opening high enough so that the ball would have to be tossed into it, rather than being thrown.”
Naismith approached the school janitor, hoping he could find two, 18-inch square boxes to use as goals. The janitor came back with two peach baskets instead. Naismith then nailed them to the lower rail of the gymnasium balcony, one at each end. The height of that lower balcony rail happened to be ten feet. A man was stationed at each end of the balcony to pick the ball from the basket and put it back into play. It wasn’t until a few years later that the bottoms of those peach baskets were cut to let the ball fall loose.
Naismith then drew up the 13 original rules, which described, among other facets, the method of moving the ball and what constituted a foul. A referee was appointed. The game would be divided into two, 15-minute halves with a five-minute resting period in between.
Naismith’s secretary typed up the rules and tacked them on the bulletin board. A short time later, the gym class met, and the teams were chosen with three centers, three forwards, and three guards per side. Two of the centers met at mid-court, Naismith tossed the ball, and the game of “basket ball” was born.
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Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Vincent. Vincent Wonders, “who invented Basketball” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Vincent!
Dr. James Naismith was a Canadian physical education instructor who invented the game of basketball in 1891 while working at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Dr. Naismith had been challenged to create a new game that could be played indoors in the cold Massachusetts winters to provide an “athletic distraction" to a disruptive group of students.
With a two-week deadline, Dr. Naismith decided to invent a game of skill, finesse, and accuracy, rather than one that relied on pure strength.
He was inspired by a game he had played as a child called “duck on a rock," in which players lob a small rock at a "duck" placed on top of a large rock in an attempt to knock the "duck" off.
Using a soccer ball, two peach baskets placed 10 feet up in the air, nine players on each team, and a set of 13 basic rules, Dr. Naismith invented the game of “basket ball." The first game was played on December 21, 1891.
Initially, players could only advance the ball by passing it. Bouncing the ball along the floor — what we call "dribbling" today — did not become part of the game until later.
Players earned points by successfully tossing the soccer ball into the peach baskets. After each basket that was made, players had to climb a ladder to retrieve the ball from the basket. Iron hoops with open-ended nets didn't come along until 1913!
Interesting basketball facts:
- Dr.
Naismith was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. The Basketball Hall of Fame is now called the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. - The first college basketball game was played on January 18, 1896, when the University of Iowa hosted a game with the University of Chicago. The final score was: Chicago 15, Iowa 12.
- U.S. patent #1,718,305 was granted to G.L. Pierce on June 25, 1929, for the first version of what we now recognize as the "basketball."
- “March Madness" began in 1939, when the first NCAA tournament took place at the University of Illinois.
- Basketball became an official Olympic sport at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany.
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Are you ready to play basketball? Be sure to explore the following activities with a friend or family member:
- When James Naismith invented the game of basketball, he came up with an initial set of 13 rules for the game.
Discuss why you think rules are necessary in sports and other areas of life. What would happen if we didn't have rules? If you could change one of the rules of basketball, which would it be? Why? - What sports do you like to play? Have you ever thought about what types of sports people in other parts of the world play? If you want a good laugh, visit this site to learn more about 10 Weird Sports from Around the World!
- If you're up for a challenge try to dream up a brand-new game of your own. What's the name of your new game? Is it a team game like soccer or an individual game like tennis? What type of ball is used? Is the game played indoors, outdoors, or both? What does the field look like? How do you score points? How many players can play? Exercise your imagination. The sky's the limit. You never know when you might come up with the next great idea in sports! Devise a set of rules for your new game. If you want, paint or draw a picture that explains your new game.
Wonder Sources
- http://www.
whoinventedbasketball.com/ - http://www.basketball.org/who-invented-basketball/
- http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbasketball.htm
- http://inventors.about.com/od/inventorsalphabet/a/James_Naismith.htm
- http://www.life123.com/sports/basketball/basketball-facts/basketball-facts.shtml
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The history of the emergence and development of basketball in brief - Go-Sport
The history of the emergence of basketball
July 2, 2019
Student basketball in 1947
The history of basketball has 130 years. We will talk about who invented basketball and how, as well as about the periods and stages of its formation as a popular sport.
Who invented basketball?
James Naismith, who taught at the Youth Christian Association (YCA) American College in Springfield at the end of 19century.
Naismith was looking for a new way to get college students involved in sports. In those days, students were only engaged in gymnastic exercises, which bored them very quickly. James Naismith has developed a new outdoor game to spice up boring gymnastics.
James Naismith, photo: www.art-pr.eu
The first basketball game took place on December 21, 1891. Naismith fixed two fruit baskets to the railing of the balconies, divided the students into two teams, and gave them a homemade ball. The goal of the game was the same as in modern basketball - to throw the ball into the basket. The team that threw the ball more times won.
The game was radically different from modern basketball. Initially, there was no dribbling, and the players simply threw it to each other, moving a short distance across the court, on which there was practically no marking. To get the ball out of the basket, the players had to climb a ladder.
When did the first rules appear?
In 1892. Naismith and the students were satisfied with the game with practically no rules only at first.
Over time, there was a need for a clear regulation of the matches, because sometimes even the fans on the balcony intervened in the course of the game - they caught the ball and threw it into the basket. At 1892, James Naismith compiled the first 13-point set of basketball rules. In the same year, physical education teacher Senda Berenson of a private women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, adapted the rules for women's teams.
The new rules were revised and supplemented after the very first matches. The fans continued to "hooligan" and forced Naismith to come up with a shield that protected the basket. In 1893, the fruit basket went down in history, giving way to the usual mesh ring. A year later, the first official basketball rules were approved, which were valid throughout the United States.
Basketball court markings and dimensions
Basketball history
In the US, basketball was distributed to schools as part of physical education classes. Even before the beginning of the 20th century, basketball appeared in Canada, where college and university students also liked it.
James Naismith promoted basketball in the United States, and the MXA college, where the first game took place, regulated the rules of the game for about the first ten years of basketball's existence.
Later, two organizations picked up the baton at the MXA College at once: the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Amateur Athletic Union. They were responsible for popularizing basketball in America. Already at 189In 8, supporters of the new sport tried to create the first official association of teams - the National Basketball League. However, this organization lasted only five years, and in the meantime basketball itself got out of North America.
Milton Hershey Industrial School Basketball Team
When did basketball go international?
Closer to the twenties of the XX century. Basketball first appeared in Asian countries with which the United States had active trade and diplomatic relations. The first basketball teams outside the United States appeared in Japan, China and the Philippines.
Then basketball appeared in South America and Europe.
A special role in the international popularization of basketball was played by the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, in which the Americans staged an exhibition tournament among teams from several nearby cities. Later, at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, basketball was also introduced as a demonstration sport.
In the 1920s, national basketball federations appeared in dozens of countries around the world. At the same time, the first official international meetings were held. For example, at 19In 1919, a basketball tournament was held between the army teams of the USA, France and Italy, and in 1923, the first international women's tournament in the history of basketball was held in France with the participation of teams from the USA, England and Italy.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was founded in Geneva in 1932 and its first members were eight countries: Argentina, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Czechoslovakia.
In 1935, the International Olympic Committee recognized basketball as an Olympic sport, and in 1935In 1936, the first ever set of Olympic medals in basketball was played in Berlin. The first Olympiad was won by the founders of basketball: the US team beat Canada in the final (19:8). During the Olympics in Berlin, the first FIBA International Congress took place, at which the unified international rules of basketball were adopted.
Wilton Chamberlain (the first player to score from above in official games), photo: redbull.com
When did basketball appear in Russia?
The first basketball teams in Russia appeared at 1906 on the basis of the Mayak Sports Society in St. Petersburg. Before the October Revolution of 1917, basketball in Russia developed mainly in the capital of the Russian Empire, St. Petersburg.
Basketball players of the Sports Society "Mayak"
In the early twenties of the XX century, basketball was introduced into the curriculum of students of the Main Military School of Physical Education of Workers and the program of the Moscow Institute of Physical Culture.
In 1923 the first championship of the USSR was played. Since 1934, the USSR basketball championship has been held annually.
In 1959, the USSR men's team took part in the World Championship for the first time and won all the matches, but was stripped of their gold medals for refusing to play against the Taiwanese team. The USSR national team did not play with Taiwan for political reasons - because of its enmity with communist China. In 1976, the USSR women's team won the first women's basketball tournament at the Olympic Games.
The history of professional basketball
At the beginning of the 20th century, the first professional teams began to form in the United States. There were even so-called "tour" teams that managed to play 200 matches throughout the country in a year. The most famous of them are the Original Celtics, the New York Renaissance and the Harlem Globtrotters. The Harlem Globtrotters exhibition team still exists today and acts as "goodwill ambassadors" from the United States around the world.
Washington Palace players
Professional basketball began in 1935 with the founding of the Midwestern Basketball Conference. Two years later, the organization grew into the National Basketball League (NBL), funded by the corporations General Electric, Firestone and Goodyear. Initially, the NBL had 13 corporate teams, but later it grew to 38 clubs. The Basketball Association of America (BAA) formed in 1946 with 16 teams. In 1949, the NBL and the BAA merged to form the most popular basketball league in modern times, the National Basketball Association (NBA).
90,000 how basketball appeared - basketball on ua.tribuna.com
to play basketball in the city of Springfield in Massachusetts USA.
College teacher James Naismith wanted to spice up the boring winter PE lessons and decided to keep the students busy with a new outdoor game.
The future basketball creator was born in Canada in 1861. Since childhood, James had difficulty studying, so he spent most of his time on the street.
One of his favorite games was duck on the rock. According to its rules, the player had to hit the top of another stone, which was larger in size, by throwing a stone. Playing "duck on the rock", Naismith discovered that a well-balanced throw with a stone is much more effective than a quick and strong throw. Naismith's biographers claim that it was this game that became the progenitor of basketball.
It should be noted that the cold winter played a very important role in the creation of basketball - Naismith students were forced to train in the hall and already began to get tired of the monotonous exercises indoors, and the athletes had to keep fit no matter what. James Naismith was given two weeks to come up with a game that would diversify the students' training process. Perhaps then Naismith remembered his favorite childhood game.
After studying the experience of other team sports that were popular at that time (rugby, lacrosse, football, hockey and baseball), Naismith deduced three main requirements for the new game: firstly he realized that sports balls can sometimes injure the player, so for his new game he chose a soccer ball, which was the lightest; second Naismith noted that most of the game struggle occurs while the players are dribbling the ball, so it was decided that the athletes would pass the ball to each other all the time; the third moment - the creator of basketball decided to nullify the contact between the participants of the game and placed baskets into which it was necessary to throw balls over the heads of the players and forbade obstructing.
James Naismith was limited by the size of the playground from the very beginning, he had to take into account that all gyms have rather small areas. This is the reason why baskets (basketball hoops) are 3 meters 5 centimeters from the ground, which has become the standard in basketball.
Naismith defined the 13 main rules of basketball, which were published in the Triangle newspaper. The set of rules of that time was somewhat different from today's for many objective reasons. One of the main differences from modern rules was that at that time there was no such thing as dribbling, that is, dribbling, the players preferred to pass immediately. One of the rules was "The player must pass or throw the ball into the basket from the spot where he caught it, except for a player running at high speed."
By 1893 Naismith's game was growing in popularity along with its creator. The editor of the newspaper in which the rules of the game were first published insisted that it be given the name Naismithball , but the creator himself abandoned this idea.
