James Naismith invents basketball in the United…

James Naismith invents basketball in the United States in 1891.

A native Canadian, Naismith teaches physical education from 1891 and becomes the first McGill director of athletics, but then leaves Montreal to become a physical education teacher at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.

At the Springfield YMCA, Naismith struggles with a rowdy class that is confined to indoor games throughout the harsh New England winter, thus is perpetually short-tempered.'

Under orders from Dr. Luther Gulick, head of physical education here, Naismith is given fourteen days to create an indoor game that will provide an "athletic distraction"; Gulick demands that it not take up much room, can help its track athletes to keep in shape, and explicitly emphasizes to "make it fair for all players and not too rough".

In his attempt to think up a new game, Naismith is guided by three main thoughts.

Firstly, he analyzes the most popular games of the times (rugby, lacrosse, soccer, football, hockey, and baseball); Naismith notices the hazards of a ball and concludes that the big, soft soccer ball is safest.

Secondly, he sees that most physical contact occurs while running with the ball, dribbling or hitting it, so he decides that passing is the only legal option

Finally, Naismith further reduces body contact by making the goal unguardable, namely placing it high above the player's heads.

To score goals, he forces the players to throw a soft, lobbing shot that had proven effective in his old favorite game duck on a rock.

Naismith christens this new game "Basket Ball" and puts his thoughts together in thirteen basic rules.

The first game of "Basket Ball" is played in December 1891.

In a handwritten report, Naismith describes the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players play nine versus nine, handle a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops, the goals are a pair of peach baskets.