The Evolution of Basketball
The Evolution of Basketball
Basketball today is a rim-rattling, slam-dunking, high flying show. Would you believe that the first basketball teams shot at peach baskets? Or that players were not allowed to dribble the ball? The sport of basketball has changed dramatically over the years.
The origin of basketball dates back to one hundred and nine years ago (Tejada 14). The first game was played on December 21, 1891 (Tejada 14). Even back then basketball was a thrilling sport. Although it has changed very much since this date, the basic idea of the game is still the same. The first game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts during the winter season (Swallows). The game was invented in order to keep football players in shape during the off season when it was too cold to go outside (Swallows). It snows quite a bit in the north eastern part of the United States and there were not to many indoor games at this time for children to play. Basketball allowed these students to have something to play and keep themselves in shape.
The game of basketball was designed and founded by Dr. James Naismith (Davis). James Naismith was born on November 6, 1861 in Almonte, Ontario. Much later in life he became a teacher at the International YMCA Training School (“Basketball”). Dr. Naismith was assigned to discover a game that would keep the boys on the football team in shape during the off season (Leiser). Naismith borrowed ideas from the outdoor sports rugby and soccer in order to come up with basketball (Davis). These two sports involved much running and team work. Naismith decided that by combining the two he could come up with a great new game. James died On November 28, 1936 (“Basketball”). This was only three years after seeing the sport that he invented become part of the Olympic Games (Leiser). The pride he must have had in his accomplishments had to of been phenomenal. Just knowing that the training game he invented was placed into the Olympic Games would probably be the greatest achievement of his life.
The original game of basketball had many aspects that no longer exist in the modern day version.. The first game had only thirteen rules (Leiser). These rules were...