Basketball
Basketball , game played between two teams of five players each on a rectangular court, usually indoors. Each team tries to score by tossing the ball through the opponent’s goal, an elevated horizontal hoop and net called a basket. (Read James Naismith’s 1929 Britannica essay on his invention of basketball.) The only major sport strictly of U.S. origin, basketball was invented by James Naismith (1861–1939) on or about December 1, 1891, at the International Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Training School (now Springfield College), Springfield , Massachusetts , where Naismith was an instructor in physical education . James Naismith James Naismith holding a ball and a peach basket, the first basketball equipment. (more) For that first game of basketball in 1891, Naismith used as goals two half-bushel peach baskets, which gave the sport its name. The students were enthusiastic. After much running and shooting , William R. Chase made a midcourt shot—the only sc
