In preparation of March Madness I thought I would blog about the man that made it all possible, James Naismith. He was born in Ramsay Township, near Almonte, Ontario, Canada. He earned a BA in Physical Education at McGill University where he was a star gymnast, lacrosse player and football player. He moved to Springfield, Massachusetts and in 1891 and came up with what would become basketball. While working as a physical education teacher at the YMCA International Training School he was asked to make a game that would not take up much room, could be played indoors, was not too rough, and that could help track athletes physical condition. He modeled the game after, “Duck on a Rock”, game he used to play as a child. The original hoops were made out of a peach basket attacked to a post, thus why when the ball goes through the net now a day it is called a basket. Naismith officially published the rules for basketball on January 26, 1892. Here are the original 13 rules of basketball by James Naismith:
1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist.
3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed.
4. The ball must be held by the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it.
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed.
6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as described in Rule 5.
7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul).
8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them.
10. The umpire shall be the judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.
11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals, with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.
12. The time shall be two fifteen-minute halves, with five minutes rest between.
13. The side making the most goals in that time is declared the winner.
Naismith went on to coach some of histories best coaches, although he is the only Kansas University coach to have a losing record of 55-60.
Feel like you learned something? I sure do.
