Who Invented the Game of Basketball?

Rickie Combs

Professor Young

EN 111

26 February 2007

Who invented the game of basketball?

What kind of life did that person lead?

How does it influence the world today?

The Beginning of Basketball

Have you ever had an interest in how something was invented? An interest in how your favorite activity or hobby came about? Ever since I was introduced to sports and how competitive it was, I became hooked. I enjoy playing football, basketball, and baseball. Of the three main sports that I play, basketball seems to be my favorite. It challenges endurance, speed, accuracy, agility, and strength. I feel guilty not knowing who created the game that takes up most of my free-time. It is time for me to learn about the inventor and the games past.

Basketball is one of the most popular games in the United States. There are many different versions of it based on where one has grown up. In the less fortunate areas of the United States, a type of basketball originated called And 1. It is all about stunning the crowd with tricks. This form originated a league of amazing basketball players that are sponsored by And 1. And 1 is a brand of basketball accessories, and the name of a team that travel from city to city. The And 1 team takes on other teams, with the same playing styles, that think they are worthy enough of playing them. This form of basketball throws out some of the rules, such as traveling and carrying, in order to broaden up the ability to achieve tricks. Although there are different versions of the game, the original game is one of the largest played world-wide.

He was born on November 6, 1861 in Almonte, Ontario, Canada, where he later attended high school. The man of average height, and weighing about one-hundred eighty pounds, lead an amazing life. His name was James Nasmith. After James graduated high school, he accomplished many incredible things. Nasmith started in 1887 with getting his philosophy degree from McGill University. James played rugby, soccer, football, and was a gymnast for McGill University, earning a gold and silver medal for Best All-Around Athlete. Later, he earned his religion degree from Presbyterian College, where he was also awarded a silver medal for his work in theology. He wasn’t done yet. Next, he earned his physical education degree from the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, and medical degree from the University of Colorado.

In 1861, James worked at the YMCA Training School, where he earned his physical education degree, as a physical education teacher. He was asked to invent a game by Luther Gulick, who was head of the Physical Education Department at the school. Gulick wanted it to be something that wasn’t too rough, and could be played indoors. A game that would serve as some kind of distraction for the disruptive students in order to keep them out of trouble during the winter. The students were growing sick of the long winter and began to moan and pick on one another. Naismith was given fourteen days to accomplish this requested task. He was inspired by a game that he used to play as a child in Canada, called Duck on a Rock. On December 15, 1891, it was created. The game of basket ball, as it was first called being two different words, was introduced. It contained 13 original rules, one basket on each end, which were extra boxes that the janitor lent to him, and a ball. Only five men on each side were allowed to play at one time.

Basketball was first played at a YMCA. A month later, on January 15, 1892, the rules for basketball became published by Naismith. The game spread rapidly through Canada and the United States, before spreading to the rest of the world.

James Nasmith felt that his life needed more. He entered the military in 1914. There, he was trained as an infantry soldier, where he served until 1919.

In 1936, basketball was introduced to the men’s Summer Olympics in Berlin. James handed out the medals to the top 3 teams. Medals were awarded to the United States, earning the gold, Canada, earning the silver, and Mexico, earning the bronze. “Basketball is the only major sport that is completely American in origin. Also, unlike football or baseball, it has just one inventor” (Peterson). Basketball became the world’s fastest growing sport. “Basketball, a game that started with 18 men in a YMCA gymnasium in Springfield, Mass., has grown into a game that more than 300 million people play worldwide”(Hall of Famers-James Naismith).

James was astonished on how fast girls picked up