We explain the history of basketball, who its creator was and how it grew worldwide. Also, the countries with the greatest victories.
What is the history of basketball?
Basketball basketball which means “basket” and ball means “ball”) or basketball in its translation into Spanish, It was created in 1891 by James Naismith a Canadian and a physical education teacher at Springfield College in Massachusetts (then known as the International YMCA Training School).
The discipline gained popularity and at the beginning of the 20th century it spread throughout the universities and colleges of the United States. Nowadays, it is one of the most practiced sports and is played in leagues and championships around the world.
Basketball is a team sport in which two groups of five players each face each other. The objective of the game is to score points by putting the ball in a hoop that is located about three meters high. The score for each time the ball passes through the hoop is two or three points, depending on the position from which the shot was taken.
Contact with the ball is with the hands, but the players cannot move holding it, but must run while hitting the ball against the ground until they make a pass to one of their teammates or until they try to put it in the hoop.
See also: Volleyball
Creator of basketball
The creator of basketball was James Naismith who, after graduating in theology from Presbyterian Collage in Montreal, signed up to study physical education at Springfield Collage with Luther Halsey Gulik (recognized as the “father of physical education”).
During a game psychology course, Gulik suggested the need to create a new discipline capable of performing in a closed environment to practice it during the winter season (when they couldn't play soccer). In response, Naismith set about devising a new sport that would be easy to pick up but complex enough to spark interest.
He was inspired by various disciplines of the time such as American rugby (passing), English rugby (jumping) and “duck on a rock”, a game from his childhood in which the goal was scored by throwing the ball and pocketing it in a basket located at a considerable height.
Naismith developed the thirteen basic rules that described the way of playing, how to move the ball, how to score and what was considered a foul. He gathered the students to form teams to which three centers, three forwards and three guards were designated for each group.
They placed two baskets of peaches about three meters high, located on each balcony at the ends of the gym room. Each basket was supervised by a man who returned the ball to the playing field after the teams scored a goal. A few years later, they cut the bottom of the baskets so the ball would come loose and return to the game.
The news of the new sport was widely accepted and spread quickly. Within a few weeks, it was incorporated into the International YMCA Training School calendar across the country, in colleges and high schools.
Starting in 1905, basketball was officially recognized as a winter sport permanent. Its rules, while they have been modified over the years, have generally not changed drastically since Naismith's original list.
Origin of basketball
Springfield Collage, the institution where basketball originated, has changed its name more than once, causing some confusion. It emerged as the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) which encompassed three sections: the training school, the international school and the international school.
However, during those years the name Springfield College was used informally, until 1954 when the institution officially adopted it. Beyond the name, since its founding in 1885, it has always been a private and independent institution.
On December 21, 1891, James Naismith published the rules for the new game of basketball and asked his class to play a game on one of the fields at Springfield Collage, with a soccer ball and two peach baskets.
Someone suggested calling the new discipline the “Naismith game,” but after witnessing the game they saw that the ball and baskets stood out, so they chose to call it “basketball.” The YMCA played a very important role in the spread of this sport in the United States and Canada.
In the rest of the world it didn't take much longer to become known. In 1983, the first basketball match was organized in Montmartre, Paris, and then basketball matches were organized in China, India and Japan.
The first professional league of the discipline was formed in 1898 with six teams that made up the “National Basketball League”. However, it was dissolved in 1904.
Then other highly recognized leagues emerged: the Eastern Basket Ball League (in 1909), the Metropolitan Basketball League (in 1925), the American Basketball League and the National Basket League (in 1937). The latter contributed to the creation of the NBA (National Basketball Association), the current United States league based in Canada (in 1949).
Global growth of basketball
Despite the rapid expansion of the sport in different countries, during the first decades basketball did not have an international organization that regulated it. Thanks to several requests, In 1904 the discipline was included as an Olympic demonstration sport.
It was not until 1932 that the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was founded. This organization, based in Miles (Switzerland), was dedicated to regulating the rules of sport worldwide and periodically holding different events and championships.
Through the contribution of FIBA, men's basketball became one of the Olympic sports. It made its first appearance at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. In 1976, women's basketball was incorporated as part of the Olympics, which took place in Montreal.
Most recognized countries in basketball
The country with the greatest victories in the entire history of basketball is the United States both in the male and female versions. This country was only on one occasion not on the podium and that was at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
Continue with: History of volleyball
References
- «History of basketball» in Wikipedia.
- “Basketball equipment and history” on Olympic.org.
- «Basketball» in JuegosyOlimpicos.com.
- “How a Canadian invented basketball” on History.com.
- “History of basketball” at HealthandFitnessHistory.com.
- «History of basketball» in Ballersguide.net.
