How Basketball Got Started

How basketball got started

Basketball is truly an American sport although it is now played internationally. The game was 116 years old last month. Dr. James Naismith invented the game at the International YMCA Institute in Springfield, Massachusetts in December 1891. All of the students at the institute were training to become YMCA executives. When Naismith was hired as the physical education instructor, the head of the department, Dr. Luther Gulick, warned him. “You’ll have your hands full with that bunch of savages in the PE class.”

Those “savages” loved contact sports like rugby and football but they hated indoor exercises like playing leapfrog, tossing Indian clubs, and tumbling. They were just bored and they wanted a team sport with real action. Naismith was given two weeks to develop what they wanted. On December 20, one day before the end of his deadline, he called the janitor. He said, “I’ve got a doozy of an idea for a new game. We can set it up in a hurry and we won’t need any expensive equipment.” He handed the janitor a note and said, “Get these things for me, please.”

On the note was written “2 apple boxes, some nails, and a soccer ball.” The janitor quickly found everything except the apple boxes. However, he had found two peach baskets. Naismith said, “Those peach baskets will work better than the apple boxes. Just nail them to the lower rail of the balcony at each end of the gym and we’ll be all set.” The janitor did as told. He nailed them seven feet high from the floor of the gym.

When the class came storming in, one asked, “Are those peach baskets part of the new game you promised us?” Naismith replied, “That’s right. Now you listen while I explain the rules of the game.” He then divided the group into two teams with nine players to a team. He explained, “The object of the game is to put that soccer ball in the basket. No running with the ball and no tackling, shoving, holding, tripping, or hitting an opponent. This is a non-contact sport. The only way you can advance the ball is to throw it to a team mate.”

The first game started when Naismith threw the ball high in the air and one of the players grabbed it. It was an awkward game at first because the players were accustomed to running with the ball. But they soon caught on and began to enjoy the new game. The first, and only basket made that day, was tossed in by William Chase, a future YMCA executive. His team cheered and the janitor came out with a ladder. He climbed up and retrieved the ball from the basket.

When he climbed down, he turned to Dr. Naismith and said, “Would it be all right with you if I cut the bottoms out of those baskets so I don’t have to climb this ladder every time someone throws the ball into the basket?” Naismith heartily agreed and the rest is history. The only unchanged thing about the game today is the height of the hoop. Although some of the players are now almost as tall as the rim of the hoop, it is still exactly at the height the original peach baskets were nailed.