It all started with a child’s game that the inventor, Dr. James Naismith used to play outside his schoolhouse when he was younger. This game was called duck-on-a-rock, it aimed to knock the duck off the rock by tossing another rock against it.
This then gave Dr. Naismith a concept of a game which he introduced to the students of YMCA Training School in 1891. Due to the cold weather, the trainees of the School for Christian Workers needed a game that could be played indoors and one that wouldn’t use much strength. He then conceptualized a ball game that uses two baskets as goals with both teams competing for the most number of shots.
Apart from the game itself, he also outlined the first 13 rules on playing the game which covers the guidelines, distinction of violations and fouls, and the roles of both umpires and referees, including the duration of each game.
Thus, these events led to the actual birth of the game in December 21, 1881 when it was first played after Dr. Luther Gulick, the head of physical education at the YMCA, gave a two-week allowance for his employee to create a new game.
While the game would be developed in the...