FREE ESSAY ON HISTORY OF BASKETBALL

HISTORY OF BASKETBALL

History of Basketball 
Dr. James Naismith is known world-wide as the inventor of basketball. He was born in 1861
in Ramsay township, near Almonte, Ontario, Canada. The concept of basketball was born
from his school days in the area where he played a simple child's game known as
duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse. The game involved attempting to knock a
duck off the top of a large rock by tossing another rock at it. Naismith went on to
attend McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 
After serving as McGill's Athletic Director, he moved on to the YMCA Training School in
Springfield, Massachusetts, USA in 1891 where the sport of basketball was born. In
Springfield, Naismith was faced with the problem of finding a sport that was suitable for
play inside during the Massachusetts winter for the students at the School for Christian
Workers. Naismith wanted to create a game of skill for the students instead of one that
relied solely on strength. He needed a game that could be played indoors in a relatively
small space. The first game was played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets used as
goals. 
Naismith devised a set of thirteen rules of basketball: 
The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. 
The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist.

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 running at good speed. 
The ball must be held in or between the hands. The arms or body must not be used for
holding it. 
No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The
first infringement of this rule by any person 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 substitution shall be allowed. 
A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as
described in Rule 5. 
If either side make three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents
(consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul). 
goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and
stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the
ball rests on the edge and the opponents move the basket, it shall count as a goal. 
When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the
first person touching it. In case of 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
them. 
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 the power to disqualify men
according to Rule 5. 
The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it 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. 
The time shall be two 15-minute halves with five minutes' rest between. 
The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners. 
In addition to the creation of the sport, Naismith graduated as a medical doctor,
primarily interested in sports physiology and what we would today call sports science and
as Presbyterian minister, with a keen interest in philosophy and clean living. Naismith
watched his sport, introduced in many nations by the YMCA movement as early as 1893.
Basketball was introduced at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.