FAMOUS CANADIANS:
JAMES NAISMITH Thanks to Canadian-born James Naismith, the world enjoys the popular sport of basketball. Here’s the lowdown on the origins of this sport and its inventor. • A native of Almonte, Ontario, Naismith studied at Montreal’s McGill University, majoring in physical education. Naismith was a multi-talented athlete, representing his college in football, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, and gymnastics He then earned a diploma from the Presbyterian College in Montreal. Following graduation, he became the physical education teacher at his alma mater McGill University, a post he retained for three years. • In 1890, Naismith made the move across the border to take a position in Massachusetts at Springfield College, which was the international YMCA training school. During the severe New England winters, students became unruly and restless when confined indoors, and in 1891, Naismith’s supervisor gave him two weeks to come up with an indoor activity that would help athletes stay in shape, while reducing their cabin fever and rambunctious behavior. • Naismith devised a game using a soccer ball and two peach baskets as goals, with nine players on each team. He named his new game “Basket Ball,” and went on to establish 13 basic rules. Two years later, the peach baskets were replaced with iron hoops and a hammock-style basket. But it was several years before open-ended nets were used. Prior to that, each time a goal was scored, the ball was manually retrieved from the basket.
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• After five years in Springfield, Naismith moved on, back to his studies, receiving his MD in 1898. He took a teaching position at the University of Kansas, where he founded that institution’s Jayhawks basketball program, and was their coach until 1907. It was not Naismith’s intention to establish their sports program. He had planned to teach physical education and act as the chapel director. To Naismith, basketball was just a game, and he actually preferred wrestling and gymnastics, believing they were better forms of physical activity. • It would be logical to think that a team coached by the inventor of basketball would have an outstanding record. But Naismith was not a competitive type, and he felt the game should be played “for fun and health.” He rarely attended the team’s practices, and his record of 55-60 reflected his lack of interest. He remains the only losing coach in the history of the Kansas basketball team. • Yet Naismith saw his invention thrive as basketball became an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 in St. Louis. It was made an official event at Berlin’s 1936 Summer Olympics, and the 74-year-old Naismith himself handed out the gold medal to the United States’ team, the silver to Canada, and the bronze medal to Mexico. He remarked that seeing the game played by so many nations was the greatest reward he could have received. Little did he know that the game would go on to be played by 300 million people worldwide today. • Naismith authored two books, A Modern College in 1911 and Essence of a Healthy Life in 1910. He also served for a short time during World War I. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (officially the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame) in 1959. The facility is located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the site of the game’s invention.
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