Origin of Basketball
One of the most unknown answers is one that people want to know. How was basketball invented? It is all thanks to James Naismith. He created the game basketball with no more than a thought, a soccer ball, and a peach basket. If you ever play it, you would know that basketball is definitely a great, fun, make-you-fit sport. It can be played by anyone, young or old, and it can be great fun for the whole family. While reading this piece you will find out about different parts of the game, including How the game was thought of, Interesting facts about it, Working its way up with popularity, and the Origin of the NBA.
How it was thought of
Basketball was created in 1891 by a physical education teacher named James Naismith. He was told that as a phys ed teacher, he had to think of a new game that students could play during the cold, harsh winters of Springfield, Massachusetts. He then thought of a game that he played when he was a kid that was called “Duck on a Rock.” which is a game that people have been playing since medieval times. In the game, you had to try to knock a “duck” (big rock) off of a big boulder by throwing smaller rocks at it. The object of the game he thought of is to throw a soccer ball into peach baskets. He chose a soccer ball because he thought it was safe to be thrown. Mr. Naismith thought to put it high because he observed that most injuries and accidents seemed to happen when games are around the goal zone with both defense and the offense becoming very aggressive and end up pushing and shoving each other.
Interesting Facts: The First Games
The original peach baskets did not have their bottoms knocked out, so whenever there was a basket scored, the game would temporarily stop because someone would have to climb a ladder to grab the ball out. Oddly, there were only 13 rules made by Dr. Naismith. There were 9 people on the court for each team, with a total of 18 people on the court at once! And amazingly, it is the only sport with widespread popularity made in America. The first ever game was not a particularly fun one though, it ended in a boring final score of 1-0, the lone point scored by William R. Chase. The first game was described as this by Mr. Naismith, “When Mr. Stubbins brought up the peach baskets to the gym I secured them on the inside of the railing of the gallery. This was about 10 feet from the floor, one at each end of the gymnasium. I then put the 13 rules on the bulletin board just behind the instructor’s platform, secured a soccer ball and awaited the arrival of the class… The class did not show much enthusiasm but followed my lead… I then explained what they had to do to make goals, tossed the ball up between the two center men & tried to keep them somewhat near the rules. Most of the fouls were called for running with the ball, though tackling the man with the ball was not uncommon… It was the start of the first basketball game and the finish of trouble with that class.”
Working its Way Up
Origin of the NBA
So if you never knew that it started by the thought of chucking rocks at rocks and that the NBA was a fail at the start, now you know and now even you can start playing. Just go take a walk to your local Wal-Mart and buy yourself a ball and you will fall in love. Now you know everything you need to know about the thought that Dr. Naismith had, facts about the game, getting more popular, and the NBA.
Works Cited
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/01/the-origin-of-basketball/
http://www.thebasketballworld.com/history.htm
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/basketballhistory.html
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1710705-the-history-of-nba-logo-deisgn
http://www.nba.com/heritageweek2007/newleague_071207.html