The History of Basketball

James Naismith was the man who invented the game of basketball. Naismith made the game up for kids in YMCA so they could play an indoor game during the winter. The first game ever played was in Springfield, Massachusetts on January, 20, 1892. There was a total of eighteen players with nine on each team. Both teams combined for only 1 point as the final score was 1-0. The first goals were wooden peach baskets and there wasn’t a hole for the ball to go through, so whenever a team scored they had to get on a ladder and take the ball out of the baskets. They didn’t have basketballs yet so they dribbled with and shot with a soccer ball. One of the students originally named basketball “Naismithball.” The same student after that remarked “basketball,” the game we know as today. The game spread quickly toward Canada and throughout the States. Since then basketball has came a long way and has came out with a variety of leagues and players in multiple countries. Basketball is now one of the most popular and played sports in the world today.

Resources: http://nbahoopsonline.com/Articles/History1.html http://library.thinkquest.org/10615/no-frames/basketball/history.html http://old.bpsd.org/ims/Tech_Ed/8th%20Grade/Webpages_12-13/1st-9wks_files/PD8/savrese.connor/history_of_basketball.htm

http://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/sports/basketball.htm