Chapter 1: A walk in Central Park
Part 2: Grocery shopping in Lower Manhattan
Part 3: Movement and Stillness on Manhattan’s Upper East Side
Part 4: Fifth Avenue and Ralph Lauren Coffee in Midtown Manhattan
Chapter 5: I just moved out of New York City and the engine light came on. What should I do?
Chapter 6: The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island
Part 7: Visit the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Rhode Island
Part 8: Marble House and its hostess
Chapter 9: Visiting two universities in Rhode Island
After visiting Brown University, Liang’s father and I drove to Springfield, Massachusetts. The hotel I booked was between Springfield and Holyok. We planned to visit three places the next day, May 8, 2024: Springfield College, the Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Volleyball Hall of Fame. The original plan was to go north to the Volleyball Hall of Fame and then go south to visit Springfield and then go back south. According to the information online, the Volleyball Hall of Fame will not open until 11 am, and the Basketball Hall of Fame will open at 10 am. We had to drive back to the Dealer at 4 pm to change cars, so we decided to visit the university first, then the Basketball Hall of Fame, and finally the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
Recently, the Chinese women’s volleyball team just got the ticket to the Paris Olympics. In the NBA basketball final, Boston Celtics defeated Dallas Mavericks 4:1 and won the NBA championship for the 18th time. When and where did basketball and volleyball, two popular ball sports, originate? I once asked my students, and the answers I got were really varied. Many American students guessed that basketball originated in the United States, but volleyball rarely guessed the United States. Little did they know that the origins of these two sports are related to Springfield College. The time difference is nearly four years. Moreover, the father of basketball, James Naismith, is also the teacher and coach of the father of volleyball, Willilam G. Morgan.
I heard about the name Springfield College when I was in college. Mr. Ma Qiwei, then president of Beijing Institute of Physical Education, was also a professor in the volleyball teaching and research department. His father was Professor John Ma, who has been committed to the development of Chinese sports. During this visit to Springfield College, I saw a photo of Mr. John Ma in the school’s exhibition hall. The introduction to the exhibition called Mr. Ma, who graduated from Springfield College, the father of Chinese physical education.
It was for this reason that Beijing Sport University established an inter-school relationship with Springfield College in September 1981. So in the eyes of our students, Springfield College is the American sports college. At that time, I thought that I would go there one day in the future. It took more than 40 years from the time I had the idea to the time I actually saw it.
The weather was fine when we visited Rhode Island, but it was cloudy and rainy the next day. We drove into the school, found a parking space, and then walked towards the old gymnasium of the school. We passed by the school’s stadium. We like to visit schools and see the school’s sports facilities. The importance that American schools attach to sports can be reflected from the construction of sports stadiums. Not only universities, but also primary and secondary schools basically have gymnasiums, and some have more than one. Even primary schools in mountainous areas have very good gymnasiums. China is developing very fast now, but how many primary and secondary schools have gymnasiums? And how many physical education teachers teach physical education classes outdoors. The country’s investment in sports teams is one aspect, and investing in school sports and mass sports is also very important.
We walked into the school gymnasium. The student in charge of the front desk knew that we wanted to see something, so he took us around and introduced us to the various branches of the comprehensive gymnasium. This is the track and field gymnasium, and the school is preparing for the graduation ceremony.
Take a picture of the tennis court outside from the gymnasium door
Basketball Hall
The student specially introduced us to this famous wrestling coach and the wrestling training hall named after him. His eyes were full of admiration. He was a very enthusiastic young student. I wish him success in his studies and the realization of his dream.
We went out and continued walking forward. When we were determining the location, a school staff member driving a trailer asked us if we wanted to go to the old gymnasium of the school. We said yes. He enthusiastically showed us the way and told us that there was a statue of Naismith, the father of basketball. Following the direction indicated by the old man, we quickly found where we were going.
The world’s two major ball sports were born in this red brick stadium. Do you see the words on the door? Stizer YMCA Center. Why YMCA?
You must be familiar with the following song. You must also know YMCA, because most towns in the United States have YMCA.
Y-Young M-Men’s C-Christian A-Association. It is called the Young Men’s Christian Association in Chinese. It was founded in Britain in 1844 by George Williams, who was 22 years old at the time, and 11 of his companions.
When Springfield College was founded in 1885, it was called the School of Christian Workers. Its purpose was to train backbones for the YMCA and local churches. In 1890, the school board changed the name of the school to the International YMCA Training School, and later to Springfield College. In 2004, the American YMCA determined that Springfield College was the only college that trained YMCA higher education talents.
The YMCA logo has a triangle, with each side representing the Spirit, Mind, and Body. The Springfield College logo also has this triangle, which shows the close connection between the college and the YMCA.
We walked into the old gymnasium, which is now an exhibition hall. This is the school’s mission: to cultivate leaders who are strong in body and mind, develop comprehensively and serve the society.
Basketball was born in this gymnasium.
This is a picture of James Naismith. He is Canadian. So the United States and Canada don’t agree on who invented basketball. It can be said that Canadians invented basketball in the United States.
In the winter of 1891, the football season was over and young students had no more interesting games to play indoors in the winter. James Naismith, 31, was a sophomore physical education graduate student at the school. He studied under Luther Halsay Gulick, the school’s physical education instructor, who later became the father of American physical education and recreation. At this time, James also taught physical education. In Gulick’s Psychology of Play, the professor emphasized the importance of inventing new indoor sports games or games. The new games should be interesting, easy to learn, and suitable for indoor lighting in winter.
This reminds me of the American college basketball season, which starts in winter and lasts until spring. Is this a tradition that we should continue?
In class, two students tried their new game but failed. Later, Professor Gulick gave the task to James Naismith. He thought of the game Duck on a rock, where Canadian children throw a ball into a peach basket. He made some improvements on this basis: he nailed two peach baskets to the railings of the gymnasium stand, 3.04 meters above the ground. This game includes the passing of American football, the jump ball of British rugby, and uses the ball of soccer.
At the beginning of the game, there is a person standing next to each peach basket, throwing the ball in and then taking it out.
Naismith created 13 rules for the game. Twelve of them are still in use today.
The peach basket in Mr. Naismith’s hand in the photo is the original basketball hoop used in basketball games.
The basketball hoops and balls used back then are also in the exhibition hall.
The following table is James Naismith’s application for admission in 1889. At that time, he wrote down his favorite sports as Football, Baseball, Lacrosse, and Swimming. His best sport was rugby. He was actually the initiator of using helmets to protect rugby players.
These are the original 13 rules of basketball.
This is the Naismith invention patent application form
After Liang’s father and I finished visiting the exhibition hall, we were about to leave. I said let’s go to the left and take a look. It didn’t matter. I was surprised to find that it was the place where volleyball was named. I learned the history of volleyball when I was in the sports college. Later, when I was a teacher in China, I told students about the history of volleyball. Every time I talked about the birth of volleyball, I would think to myself: One day I will be there. I went to the Volleyball Hall of Fame when I went to Boston for a meeting in 1999, but I didn’t come to Springfield College. I was very happy to see the photo of William G. Mogon this time. Because he named the game Mintonette, which means small net, after inventing volleyball in 1895.
In 1896, Morgan and his students demonstrated this new sport to the gymnasium for the first time. After watching the game, Professor Halstead of the school suggested changing it to Volleyball because Volley means to keep the ball in the air and keep it in the air.
The photo below tells the story of the relationship between the two inventors of the ball game. It was Naismith who recruited Mogan to play football at Springfield College.
Wow, schools didn’t have women’s volleyball teams until 1956, 60 years after volleyball was invented.
Walking out of the old gymnasium, I saw this bench, Spirit, Mind, Body. A healthy body is the guarantee of mental and spiritual health.
The appearance of the old gymnasium. The cradle of basketball and volleyball.
We saw the sculpture that the old gentleman told us about.
In the distance is the new stadium we started our tour of.
We left Springfield College and drove toward our next destination, the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Thank you for reading my post. I wish you good health, peace and happiness!
Follow Liang Ma to visit the cradle of basketball and volleyball. The school is very beautiful. Thanks for sharing! Have a nice weekend!
Follow Liang Ma to visit Springfield Sports Academy, the birthplace of basketball and volleyball. Springfield’s “Spirit, Mind, Body” is similar to the moral, intellectual and physical education advocated in China. The YMCA school song is sonorous and powerful. Thank you Liang Ma for the good introduction with pictures and texts. I learned a lot. Liang Ma, have a nice weekend!
I learned a lot from Liang Ma. The birthplace of basketball and volleyball. So this is what volley means. Spirit, Mind, Body. I really like that bench. It is round and shiny, and it matches these three words very well. “It is also important to invest in school sports and mass sports”, handshakes, and music. The colorful ground is well photographed. Hello Liang Ma, have a nice weekend!
Reply to ‘Possibly Successful P’: Hello, Keke, I saw it, it’s really well done, thumbs up! This school is very beautiful, and it will be even more beautiful when the weather is good. Hello, happy weekend!
Reply to ‘Possibly Successful P”s comment: Coco also sat on the sofa, I have a lot of sofas at home. I also served her tea and a volleyball:)
Reply to ‘彩烟游士”s comment: Haha, Youshi sofa! I’ll bring you some fragrant tea and a big basket, just in time for you to harvest the vegetables. Happy weekend!
Alas, a step late 🙂
I didn’t expect that basketball and volleyball both originated here! This school is very beautiful, the fallen petals are so beautiful. Mr. Ma is very handsome!
I came to hand in my homework to Liangma today. I learned how to make celery and egg pancake from you.
Have a nice weekend!
Springfield College is the birthplace of basketball! Last time I heard someone from Kansas say that basketball originated in Kansas, haha.
2024-06-29 06:17:27
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