(biografieonline.it) Basketball was born in 1891 in Springfield (Massachusetts), from an idea by John Naismith (Almonte, Canada 1861 – Lawrence, USA, 1939), doctor and physical education teacher. Naismith worked as a physical education teacher at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The head of the school’s physical education department, Luther Halsey Gulick, asked Naismith to find something that would entertain students during winter gym classes, as cold temperatures forced them to have indoor classes. Gulick in particular asked for a game in closed places, easy to learn, with few opportunities for contact, the cost of which did not burden the school’s expenses.
Naismith found inspiration from a game he had known in his childhood in Canada, “Duck on a rock” (the duck on a rock), in which the main rule was the parabolic shot of a stone. He also drew from older games, such as Aztec Nice(in which a ball was passed trying to never let it fall to the ground, and the winner was whoever managed to get it into an elevated ring), and the Mayan Pok-Ta-Pokas well as analyzing the most popular sports of the time, such as American football, rugby, lacrosse and soccer.
The birth of basketball: the 5 rules. After two weeks, Naismith formalized the first five rules of the new game: 1) a round ball was to be used, which could only be touched with the hands; 2) you couldn’t walk with the ball in your hands; 3) players could position themselves and move anywhere on the pitch; 4) physical contact between players was not allowed; 5) the lens was positioned horizontally, high up.
The game of basketball was born on December 15, 1891: Naismith translated these principles into thirteen basic rules. On the same day he organized the first experimental match in history played by the so-called First Team (the first team), a group of eighteen players (the students of Naismith’s class), divided into two teams of nine each. The game was played with a wicker basket, used for picking peaches, which was hung at the ends of the school gym.
The thirteen rules were published by the student newspaper “The Triangle” (The triangle) the January 15, 1892official date of the birth of Basketball (basket ball). On January 20th the first match took place since the publication of the rules, which ended with the final result of 1-0, thanks to the basket of a certain William “Willie” Chase.
The first official public match was scheduled by Naismith on March 11, 1892 between a team of teachers and a team of students: they won the first 5-0. The sport began to spread early in the United States, precisely because it was practiced in the YMCAs. Furthermore, Naismith’s students, upon completing their studies, became missionaries, and while they carried the Christian message around the world, they also taught young people the new game.
In 1904, an unofficial basketball tournament was played during the St. Louis Olympics. Instead in 1936 the sport of basketball was added to the program of the Berlin Olympics. On this occasion Naismith had the honor of presenting the gold medal to the United States, who had defeated Canada in the final, and was appointed honorary president of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), founded in 1932.
In 1946 the National Basketball Association was born in the United States (NBANational Basketball Association), in order to organize professional teams and make the sport popular.
However, Naismith was the first coach in the history of basketball. In fact, he led the Kansas Jayhawks from 1898 to 1907: in nine seasons he sat on the bench 115 times, won 55 matches and lost 60. To date, his book “Basketball: Its Origin and Development” (“Basketball: Origins and Development”, published after his death in 1941) remains the cornerstone of basketball bibliography. Awards have been named after him in Canada and the United States, Hall of Famestatues and awards. Every year the best player in the NCCA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) receives the “Naismith Award”.
The rules have since been refined, and the NBA maintains substantial differences compared to FIBA, the World Championships and the Olympics. This is because in the USA they want to make the game more spectacular. In particular, with the globalization of recent years, sponsors have come into play, creating a very high advertising business. For this reason the basketball it has become more physical, despite the first rule set by Naismith, and from pure fun it has moved on to real competition.
On the other hand, the greatest names in the history of this sport have appeared and still appear in the NBA, from Magic Johnson to Michael Jordan, from Larry Bird to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, from Shaquille O’Neal to Kobe Bryanta Lebron James, and the Italians Andrea Bargnani, Belinelli and Gallinari, just to name a few.
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