Postcard | Springfield, birthplace of basketball

Richard Labbe
The Press

Of course I didn’t pay attention.

In my defense, there is this big basketball which is hanging in the sky of Springfield, and which we can see from afar, so we had to go and see what was going on, even at the risk of our life.

That big ball just happens to be on the court at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Because this is where we find this Temple, and because this is where basketball was invented, by a Canadian, ironically.

Professor James Naismith also taught at McGill before moving to Springfield, and if the professor had stayed in Montreal, would we have our basketball club, too?

To my great disappointment, no one could answer this question at the Basketball Hall of Fame, but on the other hand, we learn a lot of other things there. For example, did you know that Shaquille O’Neal wears a size 23? It’s almost twice the size of my hand, as demonstrated by this rare quality shot that I managed to take.

There are shoes and tank tops everywhere. Here, a number 23 Michael Jordan jersey with the Chicago Bulls. There, a small corner of the museum devoted entirely to Kobe Bryant, who died tragically not so long ago. Downstairs, there is a real basketball court, on which you can try to pretend to have talent. They even go so far as to lend us balloons.

The visit was brief, because it’s not that big. On the way back, and passing through small streets not so recommendable, we could see that the reality of Springfield is light years away from the world of the NBA. At the back of the anonymous streets, you can see children playing basketball… but with old balls and baskets with torn nets. It is not luxury like within the walls of the Temple.

By the way, according to the United States Census Bureau, the average salary for a Springfield resident in 2020 was around US$23,000. Meanwhile, on eBay, you can find LeBron James Nike shoes for $100,000…