STL All Sports

Basketball, the youngest of the major school sports, was originated in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith at the Massachusetts Y.M.C.A. School, Springfield, Massachusetts. While most of the other games have had a gradual growth from centuries back, basketball was a deliberate invention. The game was developed to satisfy the need for a popular winter sport. It was purely a synthetic indoor game based on the Indian game of lacrosse and soccer. A peach basket was used for a goal and a soccer ball for the ball. In order to prevent the necessity for the dangerous elements of blocking and tackling, Dr. Naismith devised the idea of not allowing the player to run with the ball. This innovation, in turn, led first to rolling the ball on the floor and eventually to the development of one of basketball's unique features, namely, the dribble.

From this crude beginning the new sport had instant success. The fact that basketball originated in a training school for Y.M.C.A. workers made the development of the game natural through the channels of the "Y" gymnasiums throughout the country. Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick, an enthusiast in physical education, realizing the great possibilities of the game, amplified the simple rules laid down by Dr. Naismith and had them adopted by the A.A.U. The following year the colleges took up the game and the early records show that Yale supported a team in 1893. The first intercollegiate league was formed in 1902 and the Western Conference in 1905. High schools, community centers, athletic clubs, professional organizations, and industrial concerns were not far behind in taking up the game and it was not long before no other sport could show a more democratic representation. The game has spread to almost every land sand it is second only to tennis, soccer, and golf as a universal game.

The first set of rules, thirteen in number, was made up by Dr. Naismith in 1892. These rules, called the Y.M.C.A. rules, were strict and technical in their application. By suggestions from Dr. Gulick the A.A.U. amplified the Y.M.C.A. rules. The A.A.U., however, was concerned with the eligibility and registration of the players and as a result allowed the game to go to the other extreme. When the colleges took up the game, a third interpretation was added. This confusion and the conflicting interpretations of rules were brought to an end in 1915 when a Joint Committee for Basketball Rules was formed. With the formation of the Joint Committee, members were admitted from the Canadian Association and the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations. In 1933 by mutual consent the Joint Committee was dissolved and was succeeded by the present body, the National Basketball Committee of the United States and Canada.