Basketball: Made In The U.S.A.

The head of the physical education department at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfield College) in Massachusetts, issued a challenge to his graduate students in 1891.

- Christine Graf

He asked them to create a fast-paced, easy-to-learn game that could be played in the gymnasium during the winter months. The game created by 31-year-old Canadian James Naismith required two teams of nine players to face off against one another. To score points for their team, a player had to land a soccer ball into a cardboard box. After the school’s janitor was unable to find cardboard boxes, Naismith used wooden peach baskets and mounted them at each end of the gymnasium. He called his new game basket ball, and wooden baskets were used until 1903, when a Rhode Island company developed an iron hoop with an attached net.

There were no rules during the first-ever game of basketball, and Naismith said it turned into a “free for all” and that he was “afraid the players would kill each other.” One player was knocked out, one dislocated his shoulder, and several ended up with black eyes. The students were eager to play again, but Naismith wouldn’t allow it until he drafted a set of 13 game rules. Players were prohibited from running with the ball but were allowed to throw it or bat it with their hands. This kept them from tackling each other and reduced the risk of injury. Dribbling was introduced in 1901, and by that time players were using a specially designed basketball manufactured by the Spalding Company.

After an 1892 article about basketball appeared in a magazine that was mailed to YMCAs throughout the country, the new sport spread like wildfire throughout the United States. The New York Times wrote an article about its popularity just one year after its invention.