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The Inventor of Basketball

Konnor Barnes

November 20, 2022

The Inventor of Basketball

James Naismith is the inventor of the game of basketball. This sport is one of the most

popular sports in the United States. Naismith was asked by an employer to develop a game to be

played indoors during the winter months and was given only fourteen days to do so. According

to the Kansas Historical Society (n.d.), adapting some elements from familiar games, Naismith

invented the game of basketball in 1891.

Personal Life

James Naismith was born November 6, 1861, in Almonte, Ontario, Canada to John and

Margaret (Young) Naismith (Kansas Historical Society, n.d.). According to the A&E Networks

Television (2021), he married Maude Evelyn Sherman in 1894 in Springfield, Massachusetts,

and the couple had five children. While born and raised in Canada, he worked his adult life in the

United States and became an American citizen in 1925.

Both of his parents died when he was only nine years old, and he went to live on a rural

farm with his grandmother and uncle. Like many kids his age at that time, he played games like

catch and hide-and-seek. According to the Autobiography of James Naismith, when he was old

enough, he helped at work in the summer until 15 years of age when he left school, though his

uncle advised him to continue his studies (Naismith, 1891). For the next four years, Naismith

worked on the family farm in the summer and in the woods in the winter until he decided to go

back to school. This decision is what led him to become a historical figure and create one of the

most popular games in America.

College Years

After deciding he would continue his education, he attended high school for two years

and matriculated into McGill University in 1883 (Naismith, 1891). While at McGill University,
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he participated in several Canadian sports, such as Canadian football, soccer, and gymnastics. It

was here that he recognized that not only sports could influence men, but how he could have an

impact on men. After he earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from McGill

University in Quebec, he started attending the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Montreal.

Naismith was raised in a Christian home and began living his Christian life around the age of

fifteen. According to the Autobiography of James Naismith (1891), his Christian upbringing led

him to the Seminary and his desire to devote himself to the cause of young men. In 1890,

Naismith graduated from the Presbyterian Theological College.

Recreation Field Contribution / Invention of Basketball

After teaching physical education at McGill University and graduating from the

Theological College, Naismith knew he had made a good career choice. By coaching and

teaching, he could combine his love for sports and his desire to help young men. Naismith went

to teach at YMCA International Training College in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1890 (Kansas

Historical Society, n.d.). It was here he was given only fourteen days to come up with a sport that

could be played indoors. This was a huge challenge, but it made sense. The temperature gets

very cold in Massachusetts and college officials felt there needed to be a sport for men to play

indoors in the wintertime. According to the A&E Networks Television (2021), Naismith’s boss

stipulated that this new game should be fair for all players and not too rough. Naismith was

active as a young boy and always loved sports. He took ideas from several familiar games and

came up with his own rules. The game would be played with peach baskets placed 10-feet high

as the goals, nine players on each team, and thirteen rules. So, in the year of 1891, basketball was

invented.
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The sport of basketball was a huge hit and its popularity continued to grow. As the

interest and popularity of his new sport increased, Naismith became less and less interested in the

sport of basketball. In 1895, he left his job in Springfield and moved his family to Denver to

obtain a medical degree. However, his interest in physical education was still there and decided

to get back into coaching. In 1898, he was hired by the University of Kansas. He then founded

the basketball program at the University of Kansas, where he initiated a long lineage of

prestigious basketball coaches, starting with Phog Allen, who would then famously coach ace

players-turned coaches Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, and Ralph Miller (A&E Networks Television,

2021). Creating the game of basketball and starting the basketball program at the University of

Kansas was only two of the many accomplishments of Naismith. At the 1936 Summer Olympic

Games, the first year basketball was included in the competition, Naismith was in Berlin to

present medals to the winning teams of the three North American countries: United States, gold;

Canada, silver; and Mexico, bronze and was named honorary president of the International

Basketball Federation (Kansas Historical Society, n.d.).

Legacy

James Naismith made a huge impact in the recreation field and leaves behind a great

legacy. Not only did he invent basketball, teach the sport of basketball, but he showed what it is

like to care for your players and want the best for them. His characteristics as a coach, mentor,

and man are still being passed on today. Naismith wrote the first basketball rulebook and

established the basketball program at the University of Kansas. Kansas is one of the best known

programs in the NCAA and has had many great coaches and players. In addition to basketball, he

is credited with inventing the protective helmet for football players (Encyclopaedia Britannica,

inc. n.d.). According to the A&E Networks Television (2021), in 1937, he helped form
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the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball, which would later be recognized as the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Naismith would live long enough to

see the NAIA basketball tournaments begin. He died in 1939 nine days after suffering a brain

hemorrhage.

In conclusion, in 1891, James Naismith was given fourteen days to create an indoor game

so men could have a sport to play in the winter. This was not an easy task, but he combined ideas

together and came up with the game of basketball. This person, who was orphaned at the age of

nine, would become known as the Father of Basketball. His discovery of the game has brought

so many people into the recreation field. Not just the athletes playing the game but also the fans

that are there watching and enjoying the sport. This exciting sport continues to grow in

popularity today. To quote James Naismith (Kansas Historical Society, n.d.), the invention of

basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not

play ‘Drop the Handkerchief.’

References

A&E Networks Television. (2021, March 26). James Naismith. Biography.com. Retrieved

November 8, 2022, from https://www.biography.com/scholar/james-a-naismith

Autobiography of James Naismith (1891). (n.d.).

https://springfieldcollege.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15370coll2/id/2875/

Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). James Naismith. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved

October 12, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Naismith

James Naismith. Kansas Historical Society. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2022, from

https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/james-naismith/12154

Nelson, M. (2011, October 12). James Naismith: The man who invented basketball (review).

Journal of Sport History. Retrieved October 29, 2022, from

https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/453861