Basketball History

Basketball History in the Making







The history of basketball paved the way to a lot of



significant events and people who made countless



contributions for the evolution of basketball. Thanks



to the very efforts of its founder, Dr. James



Naismith, an instructor and a student in a Canadian



school, basketball came into being.







Early History







It is said that the first court for basketball was



situated in a YMCA Training School now known as



Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Dr.



Naismith needed something to pump up the energy level



of his students and put them in proper shape as winter



came.







He had numerous ideas but then after realizing how



poor it suited the gymnasiums, he decided to establish



the rules first. His idea of the first ring is a peach



basket that is nailed on a 10-foot elevated track. But



this peach basket didn’t have a hole at the bottom.







That’s why balls have to be manually retrieved every



once in a while every time the ball had hit a score.



However, this proved to be tiring and inefficient for



proper and fun gaming. Due to this, he decided to poke



a hole into the bottom for the ball to go down



whenever it is shot through it.







The ball that was used was the soccer ball. Whenever



the ball gets into the basket, a point is given to the



entire team. The team who has the most number of



points wins.







This basket was used until the year 1906. On that



year, they replaced the basket with hoops made of



metal and supported by backboards. As this proved to



be more convenient for the ball just literally passed



through the hoops, it was adapted until now.







According to the handwritten diary by Dr. Naismith, he



became nervous with his game for he fret that it would



fail like those that he did before. It also said that



he associated the rules from the game Duck on a Rock



that is typically a children’s game. After which he



named the game as Basket Ball.







Basketball’s Firsts







It was during January 20, 1892 that the first game was



officially played and was held at the gymnasium of



YMCA. The game comprised 9 players and had a 1-0



result. This winning shot was made at a 25 feet



measurement and the court was only half the size of



the present day NBA court.







Basketball was not only meant for men. Women also



indulged in the sport. The first women basketball game



was held in Smith College during the year 1892. Senda



Berenson, also a physical education teacher like



Naismith modified some of the rules that were intended



for women.







She also organized the first basketball women’s



collegiate game that was on March 1893. Her freshmen



women played against the sophomore women. She then



became fascinated by the values and skills the sport



could impart.







YMCA was wholly responsible for the development and



spread of the game. By 1895, it reached Canada and



parts of the US that was then adapted at some high



school for women.







The National Basketball League, known as the very



first pro basketball league, was established in 1898.



The league’s responsibility is to protect the players



from being exploited and make it safer for the benefit



of its members. However, this lasted for only 5 years.







Since these evolutions, basketball had been widely



accepted and had become the new trend in sports.