history of Basketball

Most sports develop over time out of games that people begin to play informally. Not so with basketball. Basketball history shows that it has the distinction of being an intentionally invented game. In 1891, James Naismith was assigned to create an indoor activity for students at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Mass. The students, who were training to be P.E. teachers, were understandably bored doing nothing but calisthenics and gymnastics during those long New England winters. They longed for action and competition.

Dr. Naismith combined elements of outdoor games like soccer and lacrosse with the concept of a game he’d played in childhood, Duck on a Rock. To win Duck on Rock, players threw stones to hit a target placed on top of a large boulder. A ball and an elevated goal—those are the simple ingredients of the sport that now has players and rabid fans in nearly every part of the world.

Basketball History at 1-0

Naismith’s class played the first game of basket ball (two words) using a soccer ball and two peach baskets nailed to a balcony railing ten feet above the floor. The class of 18 was divided into two teams of nine players.       The gym they played in was just 50 feet by 35 feet (modern courts are 94 feet x 54 feet). The final score of that first ever basketball game was 1-0. William Chase scored the lone goal from 25 feet—a half-court shot in that small gym. Now that’s the kind of fact that will someday help you win a basketball history sports trivia contest.

Naismith had just 13 rules for basket ball (see box), which he carefully typed on two pages. The game had to stop after each goal so the referee could climb a ladder and retrieve the ball from the basket. Fortunately, those early games were very low scoring affairs.

The Original 13 Rules of Basketball

As written by Dr. James Naismith

1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with a fist).
3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to made for a 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, tipping, or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of this rule y 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 of the 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 as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the mean time making a foul).
8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the base key 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. He has a right to hold it unmolested for five seconds. 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 the side.
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 power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.
11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the account of the goals, with any other duties that are usually performed by the referee.
12. The time shall be two fifteen minute halves, with five minutes’ rest between.
13. The side making the most goals in the in that time shall be declared the winner. In the case of a draw, the game my, by agreement of the captains, be continued until another goal is made.

The Game Catches On

If you want a new game to catch on, teach it to a room full of future P.E. teachers who are getting ready to head home for Christmas break. Naismith’s students took basketball back to their hometown gyms. That original class included students from Canada and Japan as well as the United States and the game quickly spread. Just two months after the game was invented, teams from different YMCA’s met for the first competitive game. The Central YMCA and the Armory Hill YMCA played to 2-2 tie. Tuck that in your sports trivia file.

Women also got in on the action. Senda Bereson Abbott read about basketball in the newspaper and introduced it to women at Smith College. By 1894, Smith’s annual spring game between the freshman and the sophomores was attended by more than 1,000 women waving violet and yellow banners. The Sunday Boston Globe covered the game and reported that when the sophomores won 13-7, fans hoisted the captain on their        shoulders and celebrated in the streets of Northampton.
Five is Enough and Other Early Changes

Initially, there was no limit on the number of people who could play in a basketball game. Some historians report that more than 50 people at a time played in some early games. This made for some very rough basketball that looked a lot like a Rugby scrum. By 1900, it was agreed that five members per side was enough on the court at one time.

Jump balls were the most common play in the early years of basketball. The jump was used after every basket and often after the ball went out of bounds. Between all of the center jumps and having to retrieve the ball from the basket, the game was much slower than the modern version. In the 1930s, rule changes eliminated the jump ball after each basket. Fans everywhere cheered.

Early baskets had no backboards so forget about rebounding. Wooden backboards were added in 1896 to prevent fans in the balcony from interfering with the ball. And about the basket—it soon become clear that climbing a ladder after every goal was a huge hassle. Open rims eventually replaced baskets. Nets were added to slow the ball down and help officials determine if the ball had actually gone through the rim. Thus, the swish was born.

Because basketball was often played on dance floors and in social halls, wire cages were placed around the court to protect spectators who sat in chairs surrounding the court. (Think of how hockey boards surround a rink.) These wire cages caused numerous cuts and scrapes. Players rejoiced with the wire was replaced with rope netting. To this day, basketball players are still referred to as “cagers.”

Pro Basketball is Born

Even though Dr. Naismith had intended basketball to be a non-contact game of finesse rather than brute strength, early basketball games were very physical. In fact, some YMCAs determined the sport was too rough to be played in their facilities. This led to the start of pro basketball.

In 1896, a team in Trenton, New Jersey, couldn’t play at the local Y. They decided to rent a Masonic Hall for        a game, charge admission and to split whatever proceeds were left. Each player made $15. The captain of the winning team made $16. There were no salary caps that we know if in those days.

The first pro league was formed in formed in 1898. Many leagues came and went during the next 50 years. Players often played for more than one team in more than one league depending on who was paying the most money. This was the age of barnstorming—traveling around the country and being paid to play against local teams. 

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad March

Shortly after basketball was invented, colleges were quick to form teams and challenge nearby schools to games. Ivy League schools like Yale, Harvard, Cornell and Princeton formed some of the earliest college leagues. In 1937, a group of basketball writers in New York decided to stage a tournament and name a national collegiate basketball champion. The first National Invitation Tournament was held in Madison Square Garden in 1938. Temple became the first national champion. A group of coaches felt the national tournament should be more centralized. They started their own tournament in 1939. The NCAA took over this tournament started by the coaches and it eventually grew into what we know today as March Madness—one        of the major sporting events of the year in the United States.

 Basketball Goes to the Olympics

In 1904, Basketball was a demonstration sport at the Olympics in St. Louis. It would be another eight Olympics before basketball would become medal sport. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, 21 teams competed for the gold medal. The United States defeated Canada 19-8 in a championship game played outside on a muddy clay field. This was the beginning of US dominance in Olympic basketball.

An International Game

Basketball is truly an international game. In the early years, the game spread to the corners of the world through YMCAs and service men. The Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur (FIBA) was formed by eight nations in 1932. Today, FIBA oversees international competition involving 212 national basketball federations. FIBA estimates that 450 million people play basketball at some level.

A Game for the Ages
For more than century, men and women of all ages and nationalities have been playing basketball. The game has become a favorite of fans who feverishly follow their favorite college, pro and national teams. The game remains very close to the original version created by Dr. Naismith in 1891. Who would have imagined that the        simple idea of putting a ball through an elevated hoop would impact everything from shoe styles to the way we spend the month of March.