History of Basketball

Basketball has been around for nearly one hundred and twenty years. James Naismith invented it in December of 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts at the request of his superior Dr. Luther H. Gulick. Basketball was created so that men could play an indoor game during the winter. The game involved elements of American football, soccer, and hockey, and the first ball used was a soccer ball. Teams had nine players, and the baskets were wooden peach baskets affixed to the walls.   The first people to play basketball were the people who attended Young Men's Christian Association Training School, where James Naismith worked. The thirteen original rules set up by Naismith were The ball can be thrown in any direction with one or both hands, The ball can be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist, A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, the ball must be held in or between the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it, No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping an opponent, A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, If a side makes three consecutive fouls it counts a goal for the opponents, A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and stays there, When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it, The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made, The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it is in play in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time, The time shall be two 15-minute halves with a five minute rest between, The side scoring the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. By 1897-1898, teams of five became standard. The game rapidly spread nationwide and to Canada and other parts of the world, played by both women and men; it... [continues]

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