Who invented basketball?

Basketball is the only American sport that has received worldwide distribution, about which it is reliably known who, when and where it was invented. Wrote the original 13 rules of the game James Naismith in December 1891, for the Young Men's Christian Union (YMCA) in the school town of Springfield, Massachusetts. Born and educated Naismith in Canada, and moved to the south in order to engage in the physical education of youth, and at the same time, Christian ministry. A little later in the rules were allowed some indulgences, in particular, allowed to play in the winter in the gym.

History of the game

The first games were conducted by nine players in each team. The soccer ball should be thrown into baskets from under peaches, nailed to the balconies at the ends of the gymnasium. The hammered ball at the same time was extracted by a man who climbed up the ladder for this. After the first public match in 1892, the game of Naismith began to spread rapidly in the Christian Union of YMCA throughout the country.

The first interuniverse match between the Minnesota Agricultural School and Hamline College was played in 1895.

A year later, the first women's match took place, in which Stanford beat the team of the University of Berkeley, California. The first professional basketball league was founded in 1898. Seven years later, at last, baskets from under peaches have replaced with the grids fixed on rings.

James Naismith was not so keen to popularize the sport he invented. He spent ten years as a basketball coach at the University of Kansas State University, which lost more matches than won.

Currently, the Memorial Basketball named after Naismith in Springfield is located near the place where baskets from under peaches were first nailed to the school walls.