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Basketball - Basketball: How It All Got Started

January 9, 2009
Home  Recreation & Sports   Swimming  
Tags: basketball, sports, excercise,
It would seem that Basketball has been with us forever. Yet it was only in 1881 that Dr. James Naismith created the game that now is one of the most popular games in the United States. What you may not also realise is that Naismith was actually born in Canada, and some wonder if the sport would be so popular in the US had he not been living in Massachusetts at the time he invented it.

Before he went to work at the YMCA Training School in Massachusetts, Naismith was the athletics director at the University of McGill in Montreal. It all started because he was trying to find a game for students to play inside during the cold winters. A soccer ball and two peach baskets were used to play the first game. At first a broomstick was used to push the ball out of the basket. Later they cut holes in the bottoms of the baskets, which is how the hoop and net we're used to eventually developed.

The game was introduced widely through the YMCA, not only the United States but throughout the world. Millions of people world wide play basketball as a hobby or even professionally. However, no nation has seen as much popularity for basketball as North America.

In 1936 basketball had grown enough that it was a featured event at the Berlin Olympics. These days watching the National Basketball League on television is one of the most popular pastimes. The Basketball Association of America preceded today's NBA. Players in the NBA are some of the highest paid athletes in pro sports.

The first paid basketball players can be traced back to 1896 on November 7. This was the date of a game between the Trenton Basketball Team and the Brooklyn YMCA. Basketball eventually broke away from the YMCA and moved into the National Basketball League.

Today great basket ball players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal and many more have made headlines not only in basketball, but in movies, tabloids, and even music. They even are role models for many kids as the game of basket ball is really very popular.

The NBA Finals are one of the most popular televised sports events in the United States. Everyone loves to cheer on their favorite teams and players. Michael Jordan, or Air Jordan as he was known, brought about much of the popularity in NBA merchandise. Everyone wanted Air Jordan jerseys, shirts, hats, shorts, and of course the ever popular shoes.

Today basket ball is one of the most popular games in the US and the NBA is a multi-million dollar association that earns revenue from ticket sales, televised games, and of course the equally popular merchandise. It is perhaps the favorite pass time and extra curricular activity with many children. Dr James Naismith must never have thought that his simple game with a ball and two peach baskets would become such a mega success.


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Carlos Lintons runs a very interesting website at FSU Basketball, there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus why not sign up for the free Basketball newsletter. If you want to read more Basketball articles go to: http://www.fsubasketball.com/articles Don't reprint the same version as everyone else. Get your own unique content basketball article here.
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