The Life Of Basketball: The First Present Day Basketball

The first game that resembled the present-day basketball was initially played by the early Olmec community back in the 16th century. The Mayan and Aztec cultures also had a similar game but instead of a rubber ball, they used the beheaded skulls of their vanquished foes. Nonetheless, the first real basketball game as we know it today was played in 1891 in Springfield Massachusetts. Doctor James Naismith is credited with its invention. James Naismith was an American and Canadian innovator and sports coach. He was born to John Naismith and Margaret on 6th November in 1861 in Ramsay Township in Ontario, Canada. He was the firstborn in a family of five. Deprivation was a central theme of his childhood for at the age of ten; he lost his parents

Het set mind to study and became a strong student. He took part in rugby, gymnastics, lacrosse, and football to maintain his physical fitness. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Hebrew and Philosophy and 1887, he graduated from the University, being among the top ten in his class. Though he was perfect in theology and won several scholarships for his attainments, Naismith offended his professors by holding on to sports. Lacrosse was the sport that was mostly disapproved and some theologians even referred to it as “legalized killing.” Nonetheless, Naismith held on to his belief that he could pursue both careers (Kagan,

Luther Gulick, the director of physical education, to create a new game that could be played indoors in winter that would help keep field and track runners in form, and would be safe to play in that the players could not accrue serious injuries. He had only two weeks to do so. The game he composed was inspired by his childhood game, “Duck on a Rock.” It involved knocking a ‘duck’ off the top of a huge rock using the second rock. It was played by several persons. One player was assigned the task of guarding the rock while the others took turns to try and hit the duck, each with only one chance. If the ‘duck’ got knocked off, each player strove to retrieve one of the thrown stones and turn back to the throwing line even as the defender returned the ‘duck’ to its original position. He then turned and tagged any player who lagged behind, and his-tagged player became the new guard. For his new game, he replaced the rocks with a football and used a peach basket that he nailed high up on a wall to ensure minimal injuries to the players. Originally, the baskets had their bottoms, and it was a while before that entire section was removed (Hiskey, 2012). Over time, the game developed from its primitive state into what it is