Creation of the Game of Basketball

Basketball, a game that started with 18 men in a YMCA gymnasium in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1981, has grown into a game that more than 300 million people play worldwide. The man who created this instantly successful sport was Dr. James Naismith. Under the orders from Dr. Luther Gulick, head of Physical Education at the school for Christian workers, Naismith had only 14 days to create an indoor game that would provide an “athletic distraction” for a rowdy class through the brutal New England winter. In order to create this new game, Naismith recalled a childhood game that required players to use fitness and accuracy to become successful. After brainstorming this new idea, Naismith developed basketball’s original 13 rules and consequently the game of basketball. Although he never had the opportunity to see the game become an astonishing success as of today, Naismith’s biggest thrill came when he was sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to witness basketball become an Olympic sport at the 1936 games held in Berlin. Naismith became famous for creating the game of basketball, a stroke of genius that never brought hem fame or fortune during his lifetime, but enormous recognition following his death in 1939. For his historic creation‘s name adorns the world’s only Basketball Hall of Fame, a tribute that forever makes James Naismith synonymous with basketball.