Basketball

Basketball started in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The person who created basketball was a Canadian named James Naismith. He was a teacher in the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian’s Association) training school. He was required to train young men to become instructors at newly opened YMCA centers. After brainstorming some new ideas, Naismith developed basketball’s original 13 rules. That turned into the game of basketball. The first game of Basketball was played on December 21, 1891.
James Naismith was born and raised on a farm near Almonte, Ontario. He studied physical education in Montreal McGill University, and created basketball in the early 1890’s. Naismith created basketball because it was used for a winter sport. The YMCA needed an indoor sport, and basketball turned out to be a big hit.

Fun Facts

1. The first “hoops” were actually just peach baskets and the first backboards were made of wire.The game became an official Olympic event at the Summer Games in Berlin, Germany in 1936.

2. In early 1900s, basketball players played in cages of chicken wire and mesh to keep players from falling into spectator seats. Players would often get injured during the intense games. Two teams of 9 players made up a basketball game originally.During a 1977 court fight between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets, forward Kermit Washington nearly fatally punched forward Rudy Tomjanovich.

3.In the very beginning of basketball, the color of most basketballs was brown, but lately, it’s more common to see an orange basketball.The first basketball game took place in 1892, where the court was half the size of today’s courts.The NBA (National Basketball Association) were founded in 1949, after the combination of the NBL (National Basketball League) and the BAA (Basketball Associate of America).Basketball was first played by a soccer ball until it was changed in 1929. Michael Jordan is considered to be one of the best basketball players in history.The reason a backboard was added is because the audience in the balcony used to interfere in the game by handling the ball.In 1967, slam dunks were considered illegal; nine years later it was legalized again.

Credits

http://www.iwest.k12.il.us/schools/thawville/projects/1800/index_000.html https://www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-basketball.htm https://www.basketballforcoaches.com/basketball-history/