Remarkable Freemasons: Basketball Legends

REMARKABLE MASONS: Basketball Legends

Cover Photo: JAMES NAISMITH WITH A BASKETBALL AND A BASKET. UNITED STATES, PUBLIC DOMAIN, EXPIRED.

by Stacy Fraser, Assistant Curator, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Both the inventor of basketball and one of its greatest players share similar interests and accomplishments—and membership in Freemasonry.

Dr. James Naismith (1861-1939)

Dr. James Naismith (1861-1939) was a Canadian-American doctor, pastor, and physical education teacher. While holding a faculty position at the Young Men’s Christian Association School in Springfield, Massachusetts, Naismith developed “basket ball” to keep students entertained indoors during a New England winter. His game was first played on December 21, 1891.

Naismith, who held degrees in theology and medicine, was hired as the gymnasium director, campus chaplain, and inaugural basketball coach at the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 1898. He later received an honorary master’s degree in physical education and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity. Naismith was raised in Springfield’s Roswell Lee Lodge in the spring of 1894. He later joined Lawrence Lodge No. 6, serving as the lodge’s Worshipful Master from 1927-1928.

When basketball became an official Olympic sport at the 1936 Berlin games, Naismith addressed the competitors and tossed the first ball in the first game. After his death in 1939, Naismith was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, College Basketball Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. One of his colleagues said, “He was my idea of a man. If I could choose a man by which to make myself, I’d choose him.”

SHAQUILLE O’NEAL PLAYING WITH THE MIAMI HEAT. FEBRUARY 28, 2007. PHOTO BY KEITH ALLISON. HTTPS://WWW.FLICKR.COM/PHOTOS/KEITHALLISON/2454475315/ CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION - SHARE ALIKE 2.0 GENERIC LICENSE.

Dr. Shaquille O’Neal (1972-present)

Dr. Shaquille O’Neal (b. 1972) is an American basketball player, entertainer, and entrepreneur. The first-round pick in the 1992 NBA draft, O’Neal played in the league until 2011. He left Louisiana State University for the NBA but later returned to complete his degree. O’Neal holds two graduate degrees, an MBA, and a doctorate in education.

In 1996, sixty years after basketball became an Olympic sport, O’Neal and the U.S. team won a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. Like Naismith, O’Neal is a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame, and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He has co-hosted TNT’s Inside the NBA since his retirement.

When O’Neal played for the Boston Celtics, he was made a Mason at sight by the Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. O’Neal is a member of Widow’s Son Lodge No. 28 in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

He is a national spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Club, crediting the group for sparking his early love of basketball. He founded the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation in 2019, which has donated millions to charitable causes. In 2021, O’Neal told PEOPLE Magazine, “A lot of people describe it as giving back. I describe it as doing what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to help those in need. If I’m somewhere and see somebody’s needing something, I’ll take care of it.”