Where Basketball Originated Luther Halsey Gulick, superintendent of
physical education at the College and today
It was the winter of 1891. Inside a renowned as the father of physical education
gymnasium at Springfield College (then and recreation in the United States.
known as the International YMCA Training
School), located in Springfield, Mass., was a As Naismith, a second-year graduate student
group of restless college students. The who had been named to the teaching faculty,
young men had to be there; they were looked at his class, his mind flashed to the
required to participate in indoor activities to summer session of 1891, when Gulick
burn off the energy that had been building introduced a new course in the psychology
up since their football season ended. The of play. In class discussions, Gulick had
gymnasium class offered them activities stressed the need for a new indoor game, one
such as marching, calisthenics, and “that would be interesting, easy to learn, and
apparatus work, but these were pale easy to play in the winter and by artificial
substitutes for the more exciting games of light.” No one in the class had followed up
football and lacrosse they played in warmer on Gulick’s challenge to invent such a game.
seasons. But now, faced with the end of the fall
sports season and students dreading the
mandatory and dull required gymnasium
work, Naismith had a new motivation.
The Year Basketball was Invented
Word of the new game spread like wildfire.
It was an instant success. A few weeks after
the game was invented, students introduced
the game at their own YMCAs. The rules
were printed in a College magazine, which
was mailed to YMCAs around the country.
Because of the College’s well-represented
international student body, the game of
basketball was introduced to many foreign
nations in a relatively short period of time.
High schools and colleges began to
introduce the new game, and by 1905,
basketball was officially recognized as a
James Naismith, The Person Who
permanent winter sport.
Invented Basketball
The rules have been tinkered with, but by-
The instructor of this class was James and-large, the game of “basket ball” has not
Naismith, a 31-year-old graduate student. changed drastically since Naismith’s
After graduating from Presbyterian College original list of “Thirteen Rules” was tacked
in Montreal with a theology degree, up on a bulletin board at Springfield
Naismith embraced his love of athletics and College.
headed to Springfield to study physical
education—at that time, a relatively new and
unknown academic discipline—under
fouls, it shall count a goal for the opponents
(consecutive means without the opponents in
the mean time making a foul).
8. A goal shall be made when the ball is
thrown or batted from the grounds into the
basket and stays there, providing those
defending the goal do not touch or disturb
the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and
the opponent moves the basket, it shall count
as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall
Dr. James Naismith's Original 13 Rules of be thrown into the field of play by the
Basketball person first touching it. In case of a dispute,
the umpire shall throw it straight into the
1. The ball may be thrown in any direction
field. The thrower-in is allowed five
with one or both hands.
seconds; if he holds it longer, it shall go to
the opponent. If any side persists in delaying
2. The ball may be batted in any direction
the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that
with one or both hands (never with the fist).
side.
3. A player cannot run with the ball. The
10. The umpire shall be judge of the men
player must throw it from the spot on which
and shall note the fouls and notify the
he catches it, allowance to be made for a
referee when three consecutive fouls have
man who catches the ball when running at a
been made. He shall have power to
good speed if he tries to stop.
disqualify men according to Rule 5.
4. The ball must be held in or between the
11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and
hands; the arms or body must not be used for
shall decide when the ball is in play, in
holding it.
bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall
keep the time. He shall decide when a goal
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing,
has been made, and keep account of the
tripping, or striking in any way the person of
goals with any other duties that are usually
an opponent shall be allowed; the first
performed by a referee.
infringement of this rule by any player shall
count as a foul, the second shall disqualify
12. The time shall be two 15-minute halves,
him until the next goal is made, or, if there
with five minutes' rest between.
was evident intent to injure the person, for
the whole of the game, no substitute
13. The side making the most goals in that
allowed.
time shall be declared the winner. In case of
a draw, the game may, by agreement of the
6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist,
captains, be continued until another goal is
violation of Rules 3,4, and such as described
made.
in Rule 5.
7. If either side makes three consecutive
Basketball is not an easy sport — it takes The number of players per side was never
endurance, team spirit and great skills to specified. Naismith invented an indoor
outscore opponents and win the game. winter activity and wanted a game flexible
There's more to basketball than just a court, enough to include whoever wanted to play.
a ball and a referee. Here are some For a while, the total number of players was
interesting facts you probably don't know a default 18, nine per side, the same number
about the sport of basketball. that showed up for the very first game.
1. James Naismith invented basketball 5. Fouls played
Asked in 1891 to invent an indoor winter Shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping or
activity by his boss at a YMCA in otherwise striking an opponent was never
Springfield, Massachusetts, James Naismith allowed. However, such offenses were never
is credited as the founder of basketball. considered fouls until 1910, with the advent
Naismith, a physical education teacher, also of a rule disqualifying a player for
wrote the original basketball rule book and committing four of them. That total was
founded the University of Kansas basketball raised to five in 1946, in the inaugural rules
program. of the Basketball Association of America
(the original name of the National
2. Basketball was played with a different Basketball Association), and to six the next
ball year.
As bizarre as it sounds, basketball was 6. Referees used watches
originally played with a soccer ball and
peach baskets, with referees having to That is because one of the official duties of
retrieve the ball each time a player made a early refs was timekeeping. Then again,
basket. In 1900, the string baskets we know there wasn’t that much time to keep: the 24-
today were introduced to the game and, second shot clock wasn’t instituted until
later, backboards were attached to prevent 1954, to combat stalling tactics NBA teams
spectators from blocking a shot. had begun to employ.
3. Dribbling wasn't allowed 7. The game was much shorter
Players never could advance the ball. Naismith proposed two 15-minute halves,
Instead, each player had to throw it from with five minutes of rest in between.
wherever he caught it. The first team
credited with advancing the ball by dribbling 8. The 1979 NCAA tournament was the
it played at Yale in 1897, and the official start of basketball greats
allowance for the dribble, just one per
possession at first, were adopted four years College basketball remains one of the most
later. popular sports, but spectators remember the
Michigan State versus Indiana State college
Another important basketball moves, the basketball game of 1979 during the NCAA
slam dunk, was banned just before the 1967- tournament, which is one of the best-rated
1968 season until the 1976-1977 season. games in the sport's history. As a matchup
between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird,
4. More players per side who had never played each other prior to
this tournament, this game marked the
beginning of having basketball greats and
NBA stars.
9. Possession rules changed in 1913
The game as we know it gives possession of
an out-of-bounds ball to the player who last
had contact with it, but that wasn't always
the case. Prior to 1913, a referee would pick
up and throw an out-of-bounds ball down
the court, and the first player to touch it
retained possession. The rules eventually
changed because of the increase in the
number of player injuries.
10. Michael Jordan paid fines for wearing
his shoes
You probably connect Michael Jordan with
his legendary Air Jordans, a now-iconic shoe
because of its record sales numbers. What
you may not know is that these shoes used to
be against NBA dress code. Michael Jordan
paid an NBA fine each time he wore them
rather than play the game without them.
Eventually, the NBA allowed the shoes on
the court.
