James Naismith
James Naismith ( November 6, 1861 in Almonte, Ontario, † November 28, 1939 in Lawrence, Kansas) was a Canadian physician and educator, and inventor of the sport of basketball.
Life
Naismith grew up as an orphan since the age of nine with relatives, and has worked with ten years as a lumberjack. Up to the age of 19 he worked in the forests of Canada before his 1883 high school graduation imitated.
On December 7, 1891 Luther Gulick commissioned, director of the YMCA in Springfield (Massachusetts), Naismith with the design of a new hall sport for a young group of students. Since it often came to scuffles and injuries play in the winter in football in the hall, the new game should make do with little body contact. Initially not particularly enthusiastic about this task Naismith wrote 60 minutes before gym class, 13 rules that are loosely based on the children's duck on the rock.
Naismith's basketball game was launched on December 15, 1891 with thirteen rules, which he published on 15 January 1892.
Naismith realized that games like football why were so brutal, because everything took place in them on a plane. To avoid the foreseeable scramble near the " gate ", he solved it so easily from the ground. At the gallery of the gymnasium he made Attach two peach baskets that same "gate" and namesake of the sport were: basketball.
Basketball is supposed to be a pure pass and throwing game; he therefore forbade running with the ball ( the so-called traveling ). The ball should often be played back and forth until one player in a promising position to the "gate" was.
Naismith put the number of players per team is not fixed, but he himself favored nine (compared to today's conventional five). Thus, the first basketball game with nine players per team in 1891 was held, the result was after two periods of 15 minutes playing time 1-0. The Basket success achieved a student named William Chase.
Over the years, changing not only details of the sport. The number of players was limited, the dribbling was not only allowed, it is an important part of the game, the throwing technique changed from two-handed underhand cast for one-handed jump shot, and time limits were introduced.
Naismith in 1898 sports teacher at the University of Kansas. On February 3, 1899, he trained there the first basketball team of the University. One of his students, Forrest " Phog " Allen, was later also coach of the basketball team, called the Jayhawks, and one of the first legends of college basketball. Allen was master of several other college coaches, including Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith.
1894 Naismith invented the football helmet and he supported the following year, William G. Morgan in the invention of volleyball predecessor Mintonette.
Posthumous honors
In 1961 a stamp to commemorate Naismith. Since February 17, 1968 is located in the Springfield ( as an institution founded in 1959 ) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, to which he belongs, as ( posthumously elected ) founding member. Since 1969, an award entitled Naismith Player of the Year Award is awarded to the best college player in the United States. In 2007 he was also posthumously received the newly founded FIBA Hall of Fame.