Essay/Term paper: History of basketball

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Research Papers

History of Basketball


Who is known world-wide as the inventor of basketball? His name is Dr.
James Naismith, he was born in 1861 in Almonte, Ontario. Most people wonder
were a young man would think of a game like basketball. The concept of
basketball was born from his school days in the area where he played a simple
child's game known as duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse. The game
involved attempting to knock a "duck" off the top of a large rock by tossing
another rock at it.

Naismith went on to attend McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. In 1891
(after serving as McGill's Athletic Director) Naismith moved on to the YMCA
Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts where the sport of basketball was
born. In Springfield, Naismith was faced with several problems. One problem was
making a sport that was suitable for play inside during the Massachusetts winter
for the students at the School for Christian Workers. Naismith wanted to create
a game of skill for the students instead of one that relied solely on strength.
He needed a game that could be played indoors in a not too big, but not to small
space. The first basketball game ever was played with a soccer ball and two
peach baskets used as goals.

Naismith made a set of thirteen rules for his new "basketball" game:

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 in or between 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 make 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 ground into
the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or
disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponents move 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 judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify
the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have the power
to disqualify men according to Rule 5.

11. The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it 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 15-minute halves with five minutes' rest between.

13.The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners.

Besides the creation of basketball, Naismith graduated as a medical
doctor, interested in sports physiology and what we would today call a sports
scientist. Naismith watched his sport, that was introduced to many nations by
the YMCA as early as 1893. In 1963, basketball was introduced to the Berlin
Olympics. Today basketball has grown to become one of the world's most popular,
and loved sports.