The History of Basketball

Basketball first began in the year 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts by a Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith. He created it to be a less-injury prone sport than football and to help condition and train young track athletes during the colder months. Basketball grew very popular as the twentieth century progressed. Basketball started out with peach baskets and soccer-style balls. Naismith made thirteen rules for the game. The objective of the game was to throw the basketball into the fruit baskets. Every time a point was scored, the game was halted so the janitor could bring out a ladder and retrieve the ball. After a while, the bottoms of the fruit baskets were removed. The first public basketball game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 11, 1892.

As basketball got more popular in the United States, universities would bring the game in for their students. The first recorded basketball game at a college was played on February 9, 1895. Hamline University played against the University of Minnesota. Minnesota won 9 to 3. In 1939, another national tournament was implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association or also known as the NCAA. The location of the NCAA Tournament varied from year to year, and it soon used multiple locations each year. Today The NCAA Tournament is very popular and is watched all throughout the United States.

The Nation Basketball Association or the NBA was founded in New York City in June of 1946. As of the early 21st century, the NBA is the most significant professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition. The league emphasized excitement and liveliness. The NBA has helped popularize basketball all over the world. A large part of this is due to the transcendent stars that have played the game through the years. It was because of the play of Michael Jordan that basketball started to reach international audiences. Now today basketball is one of the most popular sports in the United States.

By: Emma Nelson