1. Bartley 1
Josh Bartley
Ms. Tillery
British Literature
October 3, 2011
The History of Basketball
From Germany to France, to England, and Africa the game of basketball is played
worldwide by many. The earliest basketball type game has been dated back to about 1500 AD. It
have been understood that the early on Olmec natives of ancient Mexico were the first to play it.
The Aztec, as well as Mayan cultures also had a game similar to basketball; just in its place of a
rubber ball they used a decapitated skull of their fallin foes.
The basketball was created by inventor Dr. James Naismith. Dr Naismith was born in
1861, in Ontario, Canada (Nelson). Dr Naismith attended both colleges McGill University, and
Presbyterian college in Montreal, Quebec Canada (History of Basketball). After college
Naismith became a teacher at McGill University, he taught physical education. After spending a
couple years at McGill University, he transferred to Springfield College in Springfield,
Massachusetts which was then the Y.M.C.A training school (Baker). During his time at
Springfield College he was given the task of creating a game during winter months which could
be played indoors in a relatively small place by American phys-ed specialist Luther Halsey
Gulick (Belles).
The first basketball game took place on January 20th, 1892 in Springfield, Massachusetts
(History of Basketball). The first game consisted of 18 payers, with nine on each side. Naismith
wrote 13 simply, and nailed up two peach baskets for hoops. Sense neither Naismith nor the

2. Bartley 2
YMCA had the money to create a new ball they used a soccer ball. Halfway through the game
William R. Chase made the ball go into the peach basket, and became the first player to score in
a basketball game. During this match it was someone who suggested the name of this sport be
called basketball.
Within a few years the game began to grow in popularity and many facilities began to
acquire more players. However within a decade of the creation basketball, numerous centers
begin to ban the game, because of the rough style used to play this game. Still while banned
many other groups began to form basketball leagues such as, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)
and Intercollegiate Athletic Association (IAA). The first professional basketball leagues where
all local leagues within the larger east coast cities. The original know game took place on
November 7, 1896. The game was played in Trenton New Jersey between the Trenton YMCA
and the Brooklyn YMCA. Trenton defeated Brooklyn 15-1 to win the first ever professional
basketball game. A couple years after the first basketball was played, six teams from
Philadelphia and New Jersey formed to create the National Basketball League (NBL). Many
basketball leagues throughout the time did not last that long, the NBL itself barely lasted 5
seasons.
During the year of 1901, colleges began to sponsor games. In the beginning only a few
colleges participated and they were Yale, Minnesota, Dartmouth, Columbia, Chicago, Utah and
Navy. Inspired by President Theodore Roosevelt in the summer of 1910, they formed the
Intercollegiate Athletic Association (IAA). During this time the game of basketball was
considered a sport to watch, only when hockey or a football game wasn’t on. This all changed in
1925 when the American basketball league (ABL) was formed. The ABL was a collection of
teams owned by small individual corporations, but with the great depression around a lot of the

3. Bartley 3
teams started to separate and drop out. After a couple of years, the ABL resumed to start of its
season again.
At first many fans could not afford to go to the games let alone eat, but under the
administration of Roosevelt the economy grew. Many fans could finally afford to go to games
and cheer on their favorite teams. During the time the top team was the SPHAS. SPHAS stood
for South Philadelphia Hebrew Association. Even though the top team, the SPHAS was faced
with many struggles. Various Americans felt that the Jewish bankers were accountable for the
economic depression that hit America. Even while faced with many trouble the SPHAS as well
as other leagues continued on. Eventually the association began to grow in addition to economy
getting better. A new group called the American Nazi party threatened to sue the SPHAS if they
continued to play in the ABL. Many American who were apart of the American Nazi party
attended the games just to harass the SPHAS players but many were arrested during the games.
During the 1930s, season many players came and went mainly, because they needed
better paying jobs to feed their family. It was through the 1937-38, seasons the Intercollegiate
Athletic Association (IAA) announced that they would hold a one and out elimination
tournament all march to determine the better team and who would be the champion. This was
none as March Madness. Teams would be ranked according to the division and overall record.
The IAA announced that it would change its name to National Collegiate Athletic Association
also known nowadays as the NCAA.
With the NBL on the rise, and the ABL declining owners from America’s largest cities
(Lehman), as well as one Canadian owner decided to create a new league in the larger markets to
compete with the NBL and ABL. The league was called the Basketball Association of America

4. Bartley 4
(BAA). Players earned about $2,000 dollars’ month, and would get another $2,000 dollars if they
won the title. Over time many Owners from the NBL and BAA decided to meet after both the
leagues had finished their seasons. Owners on both sides were concerned over teams and players
constantly jumping leagues. On August 3rd, 1949 all the team owners had come to a satisfying
agreement; the six remaining NBL teams would join with the BAA, the resulting 17 team league
would be called the National Basketball Association (NBA) and have three divisions of five to
six teams. This would be the creation of the NBA.
In the beginning the NBA took a lot of criticism for having too slowed a pace in the
game. Teams would usually walk the ball up the court so their big men could set up down low or
teams with good guards would dribble out the clock. So the NBA came up with a solution to
counter this; the 24-second Shot clock (Rules of Basketball), even though it was not used in
every game, it increased the pace and speed of the game, as well as the scoring. The NBA also
adopted new foul rules. This put teams in the penalty after its fifth foul of a quarter (Edelman).
As the decade came to a close the NBA had made a full improvement and was on the rise
(History of Basketball). With little as only nine teams being disbanded during a short 11 year
run, the league still trailed Baseball in America’s favorite sport and in the markets (history of
basketball). In little time the attendance of basketball began to rise higher then football in some
cities. Thanks to our Forefathers we are now left with an exciting new game for guys such as Bill
Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, & Jerry West to enjoy, not to mention the millions
of fans worldwide.

5. Bartley 5
Citations
Baker, William A. “Basketball.” Gail. Ed. Colin A. Palmer. N.P., 2006. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/
retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&u
serGroupName=cant48040&tabID=T003&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIS
T&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=G
ALE|CX3444700117&&docId=GALE|CX3444700117&docType=GALE&role=>. This
article is about how basketball first got started.
“Basketball Playing Tips.” Inside Hoops. N.P., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.insidehoops.com/gym/tips.shtml>. This article gives tips on Playing
Basketball.
Bellis, Marry. “Basketball - James Naismith (1861-1939).” inventors.about. N.P., n.d. Web. 26
Sept. 2011. <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbasketball.htm>. This article
talks about the Inventor of the Basketball.
Edelman, Rob. “National Basketball Association.” Gail. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom
Pendergast. N.P., 2002. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/
retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&u
serGroupName=cant48040&tabID=T003&searchId=R3&resultListType=RESULT_LIS
T&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=6&contentSet=G
ALE|CX3425100364&&docId=GALE|CX3425100364&docType=GALE&role=>. This
article is on the history of the national basketball association. (NBA)

6. Bartley 6
“The History of Basketball.” finding Dulcinea. N.P., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides/Sports/Basketball.pg_0.html#0>. This article
talks about the Origins of Basketball. Along with how it first got started.
“History of Basketball.” Kansas Heritage. N.P., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.kansasheritage.org/people/naismith.html>. This article talks about the
Inventor of the Basketball.
“History of Basketball.” think quest. N.P., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://library.thinkquest.org/10615/no-frames/basketball/history.html>. This article is on
the History of Basketball.
Lehman, Jeffrey. “Sports.” Gail reference library. Gail, 2006. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/
retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&u
serGroupName=cant48040&tabID=T003&searchId=R2&resultListType=RESULT_LIS
T&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=G
ALE|CX3410400037&&docId=GALE|CX3410400037&docType=GALE&role=>. This
article is about Basketball, and how it first got started.
Nelson, Murry R. “Basketball.” Gale reference library. Ed. Gary S. Cross. Gail, 2004. Web. 26
Sept. 2011. This article talks about the history of basketball.
“The Rules of Basketball.” finding Dulcinea. N.P., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides/Sports/Basketball.pg_00.html#00f>. This
article explains all of the Rules of Basketball.