SPS-BASKETBALL

SPS-BASKETBALL

by ELMA ALIGATO

​HISTORY OF BASKETBALL

​Who invented Basketball?Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts. The year was 1891, and as the story goes, Naismith was asked to come up with an indoor game that offered fewer injuries than classic American gridiron football. He came up with a 9-on-9 game that involved shooting a ball into a peach basket.

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​ JAMES NAISMITH

​THE ORIGINAL RULE OF BASKETBALL

Just a month after inventing basketball, Naismith would publish the rules to his game. The original game is very different from the one that is played today. Even metal hoops, nets, and backboards wouldn’t be included in the rules of the game until 1906. For many years, a soccer ball was even used to play the game.

There were 13 original rules to Naismith’s basketball. Players were allowed to throw the ball in any direction with one or two hands. The ball could be batted in any direction as well. Players could not run with the ball, forced to throw it from the spot they caught it. Naismith made an allowance for someone to come to a stop if they were running at full speed and caught the ball.

​Here are the other rules that Naismith included with his game.

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• The basketball had to be held between the hands, without the arms or body holding it.

• Players could not strike, push, hold, trip, or shoulder their opponent. If they did, this would be considered a foul. Two fouls would disqualify a player until the next basket was made without substitution. An attempt to injure an opponent would disqualify that player for the whole game.

• Striking at the ball with a fist would be considered a foul.

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• A team committing three consecutive fouls would have a goal counted against them.

• ​A goal was scored only if the ball stayed in the basket. If it bounced out, the goal was not counted.

• Umpires could throw the ball into play if no one knew who had lost it out of bounds. They were also responsible for keeping track of fouls and scoring.

• Each half was 15 minutes. The side with the most points would win the game.

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Since 1900, 5-on-5 basketball has become the standard. Players used to be removed permanently from the game if they were substituted, by re-entry was allowed in 1921. Coaching was prohibited within the game until 1949.

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The game of basketball has come a long way since its invention, but it still holds onto some of its roots. This is just one reason of many why this game continues to be so popular around the world.