Sports Series: From peach baskets to metal rims, the history of basketball

It was the winter of 1891-92 at Springfield College in Massachusetts – then known as the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School – and the gym was full of bored young men. 

They were reluctant to be there, but they were required to participate in indoor activities so they could expend their energy, which had been building up since the football season ended. 

Activities such as marching, calisthenics and apparatus work were offered to the bored athletes, but these were nowhere near as exciting as football. 

James Naismith – a 31-year-old graduate student and instructor of the class – noticed the lack of excitement in his students and was inspired by his physical education instructor Luther Halsey Gulick. 

According to springfield.edu,Gulick expressed his determination to find a new indoor game "that would be interesting, easy to learn and easy to play in the winter and by artificial light." 

Such a game was exactly what Naismith's bored class needed. 

But finding a fun game that could be played in a confined space was a difficult feat. Naismith quickly realized that he had his work cut out for him. He needed to create something that could be played by a large group of people but didn't pose the threat of injury. The men needed to be healthy for their upcoming football seasons. 

Naismith called on aspects of other games to create a new one. He incorporated passing from American rugby, the jump ball from English rugby, the use of a goal from lacrosse, and the shape and size of the ball from soccer. 

Naismith was also inspired by a game he and his childhood friends made called “Duck on a Rock.” This game required the goal to be high in the air so that the ball would have to be tossed – not thrown – to get a point. 

With these aspects in mind, Naismith was ready to create the game. He went to the school janitor and asked for two, 18-inch square boxes so he could create the goals. The janitor returned with two peach baskets. 

Naismith nailed the two baskets – one on each end of the court – to the lower rails of the gymnasium balcony. The height happened to be ten feet. Since the baskets had bottoms, a man stood behind each basket so he could remove the ball from the basket when a goal was scored. 

Naismith then created the 13 original rules, which explained how the ball could be moved up the court and what a foul was. While some of the rules have changed, basketball doesn't differ much from the rules Naismith wrote 130 years ago. 

Naismith then had his secretary type up the rules, and a few days later when his gym class met, two teams were created, each including three centers, three forwards and three guards. Naismith brought two centers to the middle of the court, tossed the ball in the air and the sport of "basket ball" – which was originally two words – began. 

According to usab.com, the rules originally published in the Springfield College school newspaper on Jan. 15, 1892 are as follows:

1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. 
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist). 
3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man who catches the ball when running at a good speed if he tries to stop. 
4. The ball must be held in or between the hands; the arms or body must not be used for holding it.
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of this rule by any player shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game, no substitute allowed.
6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violation of Rules 3,4, and such as described in Rule 5.
7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls, it shall count a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the mean time making a foul).
8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds; if he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that side.
10. The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.
11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made, and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.
12. The time shall be two 15-minute halves, with five minutes' rest between.
13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In case of a draw, the game may, by agreement of the captains, be continued until another goal is made.

Basketball was an immediate hit. A few weeks after the game was born, students taught their own YMCAs the rules. Shortly after that, the rules were printed in the College Magazine and the magazine was mailed to YMCAs around the country. 

Because of the College Magazine's credibility, the game spread quickly on both a national and worldwide level. By 1905, basketball took its spot as an official permanent winter sport. 

Ever since its creation in 1892, basketball has continued to flourish. When the National Basketball Association was founded in 1946, the sport gained even more publicity. Nowadays, according to thesporting.blog, basketball is the second most popular sport in the United States. 

According to the website, "while American football is considered the most-watched sport, basketball is widely considered the most-played sport in the US." Additionally, "it is considered the 10th most-followed sport in the world." 

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people flood into NBA arenas and crowd around their televisions to watch their favorite teams and players compete. What started as a way to kill time has evolved into a worldwide sensation. 

The legacy Naismith created in 1892 when he nailed two peach baskets to a wall has outlived him, and it will continue to thrive for generations and generations of competitions.