Preview

History of Basketball

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2434 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
History of Basketball
One of the greatest sports in the world is goes by the name of basketball. This great game was invented by James Naismith December of 1891. James Naismith was a physician from Canada and attended McGill’s University in Montreal, Canada. After working as McGill’s Athletic director he went to Springfield, Massachusetts. He introduced the game when he was an instructor at the Young Men Christian Association Training School in Springfield. He created the game because he needed to think of something the kids would be able to play during those cold winters, in a small area. He wanted to come up with something where you wouldn’t have to be the strongest but have to have to be skilled.

The game involved elements of football, soccer, and hockey the first game was actually played with a soccer ball. The goals were made of wooden peach baskets placed on the wall. Teams consisted of nine players but by 1897-1898 teams had then consist of five players. The game spread threw the nation, Canada and even certain parts of the world. It became popular even outdoors with servicemen playing it in other countries during War World II.

In 1893 and 1895 many U.S. colleges adopted this great sport. The first college games were played at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in 1934. By 1950 college basketball was becoming very huge and paved the way for more interest in basketball being played on the professional level. Formed in 1898 the National Basketball League was the first professional league formed. Unfortunate this professional league only lasted for five years. The leagues break-up spawned a numerous unorganized leagues throughout the northeast United States.

In 1926 British immigrant by the name of Abe Saperstein recruited five black basketball players from the slums of Chicago. He was able to get them two games a week at the Savoy Ballroom on the south side of Chicago. Abe Saperstein became the owner, coach, chauffeur, and sixth man on his team which was called the "Savoy

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Naismith came up with an idea. He got two peach baskets and nailed one to each end of the gym, ten feet above the floor. He made rules about how the ball could be moved across the floor. His thirteen rules are still used in today’s basketball games. The team loved the game and basketball was born.…

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    James Naismith was the creator of basketball. He created it in 1891 to condition young athletes in the winter. The “hoop” was a peach basket and the ball was a soccer styled ball. There were many rules for the new game. He created it in a YMCA gym in Springfield, Massachusetts. His team of eighteen was divided into two teams of nine and then the peach baskets were nailed above their heads. Every time one would score a basket, the game was stopped for the janitor to get up on a ladder and retrieve the ball. Later on, the bottoms of the “hoops” were taken out and they became a (sort of) real basket.…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    James Naismith does the name mean anything? Well it should, because of Naismith we have the game basketball. Naismith was born in Almont, Ontario, and was educated at McGill University and Presbyterian College in Montreal. Naismith was the physical education teacher at McGill University from 1887 to 1890 and at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts 1890 to 1895 (Bellis). It wasn’t until 1890 that Naismith was given the job to create a new game by Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick, the director of the physical education department (McCuaig).…

    • 694 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Basketball was invented in December 1891 by the Canadian clergyman, educator, and physician James Naismith. Naismith introduced the game when we were an instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts. At the request of his superior, Dr. Luther H. Gulick, he organized a vigorous recreation suitable for indoor winter play. The game involved elements of American football, soccer, and hockey, and the first ball used was a soccer ball. Teams had nine players, and the goals were wooden peach baskets affixed to the walls. By 1897-1898, teams of five became standard. The game rapidly spread nationwide and to Canada and other parts of the world, played by both women and men; it also became a popular informal outdoor game. U.S. servicemen in World War II (1939-1945) popularized the sport in many other countries.…

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Basketball is a limited contact sport played on a rectangular court. While most often played as a team sport with five players on each side, three-on-three, two-on-two, and one-on-one competitions are also common. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 10 feet (3.048 m) high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, who would be the first basketball coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, one of the most successful programs in the game's history.…

    • 98 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    History of Youth Sports

    • 502 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Systematic youth sports are now a custom in United States. Baseball, football, ice hockey, and soccer has drawn more than 40 million youngsters alleges the National Council of Youth Sports. Many youngsters grew to enjoy the games while learning the game by well qualified coaches. One important element in a systematic youth sport is having a safe place for all kids to play so they can enjoy the sport (Silverman, 2011).…

    • 502 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first game similar to basketball may have been played by the early people of ancient Mexico as early as 500’s. The Mayan people used the decapitated skulls of their enemies as the ball. They also made sacrifices if you did not win the game.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Introduction: A. Attention Getter: Have you ever wondered how the great sport of basketball was invented, and how it became the sport we have all come to enjoy today.…

    • 1353 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dr. James Naismith

    • 79 Words
    • 1 Page

    Dr. James Naismith attended McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to graduate as a medical doctor, primarily interested in sports physiology (sports science), and a presbyterian minister (George Laughead n.p.). Dr. Naismith started developing the idea for the game of basketball during his schooldays when he would play a game called duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse. The game consisted of attempting to knock the “duck” off the top of a big rock by tossing another smaller rock at it.…

    • 79 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    generation, basketball was only second tier sport and was only attended if there wasn’t a hockey game or football game. Since the attendance was so low it forced many teams, and leagues to shut down monthly, and only a select few were able to stay around, which were the New York Rens, New York Celtics, SPHA’s, and the Germans. When people thought all was lost and basketball could be the thing of the past, everything changed in 1925, when the American Basketball League was created. This league was made up of only a select few teams that were owned by small corporations like Firestone and Healey Motors and were pretty successful for the next couple years, but with the Great Depression starting most of the teams disbanded. They tried to keep the league alive while in the middle of the Great Depression, but it just wasn’t successful since Americans didn’t have the money to enjoy such luxurious things like a basketball game. The last straw was when the Stock Market Crash of 1929 eventually hit the league so hard they finally had to stop play during the seasons of 1931-32 and 1932-1933, since money was so scarce and those who had it held it…

    • 8682 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Basketball is played everywhere today with girls and boys playing the well known game. The man behind the game basketball is Dr. James Naismith. At first the game was played with a rubber ball and a peach basket. The first true basketball game as we know was January 20th, 1892 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Dr. Naismith made the game for YMCA to play originally. Dr. Naismith wrote some simple rules, most of his original rules are used today. There was 13 rules, but nine have been edited and kept in the modern day game and, the rest have been disregarded. The first game had 18 players, or nine on each team which is standard to the teams in that time. Naismith/ YMCA didn't have lots of money to create…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dr. james naismith created the game of basketball in 1894 using a soccer type ball and two baskets. He introduced it in order to keep athletes in shape during the cold months. It very quickly became a fun play into a competitive sport with keeping score. Today, basketball is played as casual among friends and competitive.…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    History of Volleyball

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In 1895, a man named William Morgan wanted to create a new game requiring less physical contact than basketball. He decided to blend elements of basketball, tennis, handball, and baseball resulting in the game of Volleyball (at the time called mintonette). Morgan took a tennis net and raised it 6 ½ feet; he required the players to hit the ball back and forth over it, keeping it from hitting the ground. During a demonstration, someone stated that the players seemed to be volleying the ball back and forth over the net, and the new name “volleyball” was born.…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Physics Of Basketball

    • 2340 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Canadian named, Dr. James Naismith, was instructed to create an indoor sport in 1891, for the long winter months in New England. He did so, while he conducted a physical education class at the international YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. His creation resulted in what we now call basketball. The very first basketball game was played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets that were nailed 10-feet high and played on a court just half the size of a present-day court. The baskets kept their bottoms so balls scored into the basket had to be poked out each time. Also, dribbling was not part of the original game. There were also originally only 13 rules, which consisted of how you could throw the ball, how to accumulate points, and what not to do. Over the years this sport has changed and advanced in many different ways, from the equipment used, to the rules of the game.…

    • 2340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    History & Nature of the Game

    • 3194 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith; a Canadian teacher. It was first played with a soccer-style ball…

    • 3194 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays