Dr. James Naismith grew up in Ontario, Canada, playing a schoolyard game called “Duck on a Rock” where you knock an object off a rock by throwing stones at it.
As ?Athletic Director (he was both a physician & a minister) at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts,?he ?needed to?find an indoor sport for the students […]
Written on November 10th, 2006
Read more articles on Basketball.
Dr. James Naismith grew up in Ontario, Canada, playing a schoolyard game called “Duck on a Rock” where you knock an object off a rock by throwing stones at it.
As ?Athletic Director (he was both a physician & a minister) at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts,?he ?needed to?find an indoor sport for the students to play?in the winter. He wanted a game of skill rather than one that relied on strength, so more people could participate. He modified?his childhood game?to use a soccer ball and two peach baskets, and basketball was born in 1891.
Naismith taught a class of Phys. Ed. teachers from the US, Canada & Japan this new game, and within months of its invention the YMCA held its first competition.
By 1936 there were basketball teams in many nations, and basketball was included for the first time in the Olympics held in Berlin. Naismith, himself, was present in the crowd on that momentous day.
About the Author
Teresa McEachern has founded two e-commerce sites: Photography Gift Shop with professional photos of travel sights & wildlife on t-shirts & gifts, as well as Lingo T-shirts which features t-shirts that talk for you about your passion for sports, hobbies, babies & family, holidays or wildlife.
Written on November 10th, 2006
Read more articles on Basketball.