James Naismith

James Naismith was an Canadian-American sports coach and innovator. He invented the sport of basketball in 1891 and is often credited with introducing the first football helmet. He wrote the original basketball rulebook, founded the University of Kansas basketball program, and lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as the birth of both the National Invitation Tournament and the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship .
Born in Canada, Naismith studied physical education in Montreal before moving to the United States, where he developed basketball in late 1891 while teaching at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith also studied medicine in Denver, taking his MD in 1898 before moving to the University of Kansas. After a decade serving there as a faculty member and part-time basketball coach during the sport's fledgling years, he became the Kansas Jayhawks' athletic director. He became a U.S. citizen in 1925 in Lawrence, Kansas.
Naismith's contributions to basketball have earned him several posthumous honours, such as in the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Legends Hall of Fame, the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame, the Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he is a member of the original Hall of Fame class, was named in Naismith's honour.
Naismith was also a National Guard chaplain with the First Kansas Infantry Regiment. He taught his soldiers basketball to control their excess energy. His effort helped increase morale and even lowered the rate of disciplinary actions among soldiers.
Early years
Naismith was born in 1861 in Ramsay Township . Struggling in school but gifted in farm labor, Naismith spent his days outside playing catch, hide-and-seek, or duck on a rock, a medieval game in which a person guards a large drake stone from opposing players, who try to knock it down by throwing smaller stones at it. To play duck on a rock most effectively, Naismith soon found out that a soft lobbing shot was far more effective than a straight hard throw, a thought which later proved essential for the invention of basketball. Orphaned early in his life, Naismith lived with his aunt and uncle for many years and attended grade school at Bennies Corners near Almonte. Then he enrolled in Almonte High School, in Almonte, Ontario, Canada, from which he graduated in 1883. he was a talented and versatile athlete, representing McGill in Canadian football, lacrosse, rugby, soccer and gymnastics. He played center on the football team, introduced the first football helmet into regular play Naismith earned a BA in Physical Education and a Diploma at the Presbyterian College in Montreal .
The first game of "Basket Ball" was played in December 1891. In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops, the goals were a pair of peach baskets: "When Mr. Stubbins brot up the peach baskets to the gym I secured them on the inside of the railing of the gallery. This was about 10 feet from the floor, one at each end of the gymnasium. I then put the 13 rules on the bulletin board just behind the instructor's platform, secured a soccer ball and awaited the arrival of the class... The class did not show much enthusiasm but followed my lead... I then explained what they had to do to make goals, tossed the ball up between the two center men & tried to keep them somewhat near the rules. Most of the fouls were called for running with the ball, though tackling the man with the ball was not uncommon." In contrast to modern basketball, the original rules did not include what is known today as the dribble. Since the ball could only be moved up the court via a pass early players tossed the ball over their heads as they ran up court. Also, following each "goal" a jump ball was taken in the middle of the court. Both practices are obsolete in the rules of modern basketball.
By 1892, basketball had grown so popular on campus that Dennis Horkenbach featured it in an article called "A New Game", This attempts to dispute the claim that Dr. Naismith was the sole inventor of the game. A team photo shows Will's team with a dated basketball before Naismith's claim of having the first game.
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas men's basketball program officially began in 1898, following Naismith's arrival, just six years after Naismith drafted the sport's first official rules. Naismith was not initially hired to coach basketball, but rather as a chapel director and physical education instructor. In these early days, the majority of the basketball games were played against nearby YMCA teams, with YMCA's across the nation having played an integral part in the birth of basketball. Other common opponents were Haskell Indian Nations University and William Jewell College. Under Naismith, the team played only one current Big 12 school: Kansas State . Naismith was, ironically, the only coach in the program's history to have a losing record . However, Naismith coached Forrest "Phog" Allen, his eventual successor at Kansas, who went on to join his mentor in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. When Allen became a coach himself and told him that he was going to coach basketball at Baker University in 1904, Naismith discouraged him: "You can't coach basketball; you just play it." Instead, he was more interested in his physical education career, receiving an honorary PE Masters degree in 1910, During the Olympics, he was named the Honorary President of the International Basketball Federation.
In his later years, Naismith became Professor Emeritus in Kansas and retired in 1937 at the age of 76. Including his years as coach, Naismith served as athletic director and faculty at the school for a total of almost 40 years. Naismith died in 1939 after he suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage. He was buried in Lawrence, Kansas. Posthumously, his masterwork "Basketball — its Origins and Development" was published in 1941. The university also named the court in Allen Fieldhouse, James Naismith Court in his honour. Naismith Hall, a college residential dormitory, is located on the northeastern edge of 19th Street and Naismith Drive. Naismith was also inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Legends Hall of Fame, the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame, the Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame, and The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which was named in his honour.
Personal life
Naismith was the eldest child of Margaret and John Naismith, two Scottish immigrants. His mother, Margaret Young, was born in 1833 and immigrated as the fourth of 11 children to Lanark County, Canada in 1852.
On June 20, 1894, Naismith married Maude Evelyn Sherman in Springfield, MA, USA. The couple had five children: Margaret Mason, Helen Carolyn, John Edwin, Maude Ann and James Sherman . Maude Naismith died in 1937, and on June 11, 1939, he married his second wife Florence B. Kincaid. Naismith suffered a major brain hemorrhage on November 19 the same year and died nine days later in his home located in Lawrence, Kansas. Naismith was 78 years old. Florence Kincaid died in 1977 at the age of 98 and is buried with her first husband Dr. Frank B. Kincaid in Elmwood Cemetery in Beloit, KS.
During his lifetime, Naismith's education and academic positions held were as follows:
See also