THE EVLUTIN F BASKETBALL IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

by Niki Arinze

Arguably the most popular sport in the world, Basketball took the twentieth century by storm. Basketball is one of few sports started in the United States. Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith at Springfield College in 1891. Dr. Naismith was an instructor at a Young Men's Christian Association in Springfield, Massachusetts. Upon inception of basketball as a sport, Dr. James was faced with three tasks: 1) to devise an indoor activity to sustain athletic interest in the long New England months between football and baseball seasons; 2) to restore order in an unruly gym class of hypercompetitive types who were bored with gymnastics; 3) an activity with a minimum amount of equipment and that would not have the risk of injury that the games with more body contact involved. Peach baskets were first used as goals, and soccer balls were first used as balls. When a team scored they had to get a ladder and climb and remove the ball from the basket. The bottom of the peach basket was removed to speed up play. The number of players allowed to play depended on the size of the gym. Basketball's reputation as a sport grew to large proportions. Yale University had the first team in 1892. Soon after Cornell and the University of Chicago had a team in 1893. Over the next decade Basketball's poplarity grew at an escalating rate. The first intercollegiate game was played in 1897.

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