The Invention of Basketball.

There died in America a few weeks ago, Dr. James Naismith, the man who introduced basketball into world sport. As a result of a careless remark, Dr. Naismith was challenged to introduce a new game. Here is how it happened. Hearing a renowned Physical Educationalist state that “there is nothing page 62 page 63 new under the sun; all we imagine to be new is merely an adaptation of things already existing.” Dr. Naismith declared that if such was the case there was nothing to prevent him from inventing a “new” game. A few weeks later he was placed in charge of a college gymnasium that had been losing support and told to invent a “new” game. He analysed the many sports that had been tried and did away with the rough tactics of polo, Rugby, lacrosse and other contact games, at the same time using some of the characteristics of those games. He used two peach baskets as goals, drew up thirteen rules, and gave the world basketball. Fifty years later he was guest at an international basketball display at the Olympic Games in Berlin. In the interim the sport that had started as the result of a jesting remark had swept the world and to-day is recognised as one of the best body developers for male and female. It is given to few to invent a new game, and fewer to see that sport develop into a world-wide sport.