Basketball Hoops

The game for today is Basketball. Unlike other sports that evolved over time or mutated from a different sport, Basketball was invented by one person. Seeking a way to keep his students occupied and fit during the long winters of New England, Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian physician of McGill University and minister on the faculty of a college for YMCA professionals (know as Springfield College today), invented the game in early December 1891.

Legend has it that, after discarding other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to indoor gymnasiums, Naismith modified a Mayan game and wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a ten foot elevated track. One of Naismith’s students suggested the name “Basket Ball” since the game was played with the basket and a ball - the name was popular from the beginning.

Women’s basketball began in 1892 at Smith College when Senda Berebson, a physical education teacher, modified Naismith’s rules for women. The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20, 1892 with nine players on a court just half the size of the current NBA court

Basketball’s early enthusiasts traveled to YMCA’s throughout the United States and the games popularity spread quickly. While the YMCA was initially responsible for developing the game, within a decade it discouraged the new sport as too violent, and the rowdy crowds attracted to the game detracted YMCA's primary mission. By 1896 the game was established at several women’s colleges and in the years before WWI, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Intercollegiate Athletic Association (forerunner to the NCAA) vied for control over the rules of the game.

When Naismith invented the game, it was played with a soccer ball. As the games popularity grew, someone eventually developed a ball. The first balls were brown and game play was limited due to the balls asymmetric shape. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that Tony Hinkle introduced the modern orange basketball that is used today.



Basketball, netball, volleyball, and lacrosse are the only ball games which have been invented by North Americans. All other ball games, like baseball and football, have Commonwealth of Nations, European, Asian, or African links to their creation.