James Naismith

of the James Naismith (* 6. November 1861 in Almonte, Ontario; † 28. November 1939 in Lawrence, Kansas) was a Canadian physician and paedagogue as well as an inventor of the kind of sport basketball.

To 7. December 1891 asked Luther Gulick, director of the YMCA in Springfield (Massachusetts), Naismith for a possibility of arranging the sport hours of the students more varied in the winter. Punctually to 21. December 1891 delivered Naismith its suggestion, a new play.

Naismiths basketball play started to 15. December 1891 with thirteen rules, which it to 15. January 1892 published.

After its idea the new kind of sport should being less hard and body-stressed than for example football, in order to avoid injuries of the sportsmen. He suggested therefore a pure passport and throw play; it forbade therefore running with the ball (the so-called traveling). The ball should be played often back and forth, until a fellow player was in promising position to „the gate “. In order to avoid the foreseeable wrangling in the proximity „of the gate “, it solved it simply from the soil. At the loft let it sport-resounds two peach baskets fasten, which became simultaneous „gate “and name givers of the kind of sport: Basketball

Naismith did not specify the number of players per crew, it however favored nine (opposite the today usual five). Thus 1891 the first basketball play with nine players for each team were delivered, the result read after twice 15 minutes play time 1:0. A student obtained basket success named William Chase.

In the course of the years details of the kind of sport did not only change. The number of players was limited, that dribbling was not only permitted, but even an important component of the play, the throw technology changed from the both-handled Unterhandwurf to in-handled jump throw, and time limits were introduced.

Naismith became a 1898 sport teacher at the university of Kansas. At the 3. February 1899 he trained the first basketball crew of the university there. One its pupil, Forrest “Phog” everything, was called later likewise coaches of the basketball team, Jayhawks, and one of the first legends of the college basketball. All became instructor of several other college coach, among other things Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith.

Since that 17. February 1968 in Springfield the Naismith basketball resound yourself to OF Fame, and since 1969 an honor with the title Naismith Player OF The Year Award will assign to the best college player of the USA.