How Did Naismith Invented The Game?

Before the iconic peach baskets were hung, and prior to the first game of basketball was played at the International Training School in Springfield, MA, Dr. James Naismith was challenged with creating a new game. In this essay I will discuss the “how” and “why” Dr. Naismith invented the game. I will argue that components from his childhood, and his experience playing a variety of sports helped him in the creation of the game. Furthermore, his demeanor and personality played a large part in creating the game to be played as it was originally designed. Finally, I will discuss how the first game of basketball was played, how it was received by the players, and Dr. Naismith’s notes on the game. In order to properly understand why Dr. Naismith
There he was studying for the seminary, and would be considered to be a bookworm. It was by a little motivation from janitors at the university and happenstance that Naismith became involved in sports. The janitors noticed that Naismith spent too much time studying, and mentioned that he should take up sports, but Naismith said that he “did not have time for sports”. It wasn’t until one day while walking by the football team’s practice that Naismith became involved in athletics. The football team’s center bad become injured during practice, and Naismith was asked if he could fill in for the remainder of the practice. He must have made an impression on the team because after practice he was asked by the team’s captain to play in their next game. Naismith obliged, and went on to play college football for seven years even though he found the game to be too rough and injury prone. His ideas about roughness in athletics will be a key part in his design of
According to Naismith there are two kinds of balls; large and small. He noted that games that used a small ball required some sort of equipment to handle, hit or move the ball. With his concern with safety paramount in his mind, Naismith decided that using some sort of bat, stick or racquet could injure someone. Therefore a large ball was necessary, as it didn’t require the additional equipment. Furthermore, a large ball could be easily passed and handled, and Naismith ended up deciding to use a soccer