The History Of Basketball: The Origin Of Basketball

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The Origin of Basketball
The first basketball type game may have been played by the early Olmec people of ancient Mexico as early as 500 years ago. The Aztec, and Mayan cultures also had a game similar to basketball, only instead of a rubber ball, they used the decapitated skulls of their conquered foes. The game of basketball as we currently know it, was designed and founded by Dr. James Naismith. Naismith was born on November 6, 1861, in Almonte, Ontario. Born and educated in Canada, Naismith came south to pursue his interests of physical education and Christian ministry. Shortly thereafter, he became a teacher at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Dr. Naismith was given two weeks to discover a game that would …show more content…

The class of 18 was divided into two teams of nine players. The gym they played in was only 54 feet by 35 feet (modern courts are 94 feet by 54 feet). Originally, the game required a break between each basket to allow the YMCA’s janitor to retrieve the ball from the peach baskets because they were closed at the bottom. The janitor later punched holes in the bottom of the baskets after he became tired of climbing up to retrieve balls. That way he could just use a stick to pop the ball out. Today, the baskets are open on the bottom to allow for a faster lone goal from 25 feet—a half-court shot in that small gym. It is believed that Naismith drew up the original 13 Rules of Basketball (see figure 1.) in about an hour. Most of these rules still apply today. The game of basketball became an instant success. The students found the game easy to play and the rules easy to understand. Also, the idea of getting a good exercise workout without having to go outside in the very cold winter was very attractive to the

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