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Born
James Naismith was born. -
College
James Naismith started college at Mcgill University. -
Idea Appears
After graduating from McGill University in Montreal, he began working as a P.E. teacher at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith tried to invent a new indoor game for the children to play in the winter. -
Basketball is Invented
Naismith was inspired by a game called "Duck-on-a-Rock" -
Original Equipment
When the idea was first proposed, Naismith used a soccer ball and two peach baskets to play the game -
Rules are Made
Naismith completed the rules of the game. -
Equipment is Upgraded
Naismith upgraded the peach baskets to iron rims with a hammock-style basket -
First College Game
On January 18, 1896 the first game of college basketball was played. The game consisted of the University of Iowa and the University of Chicago. The score did not reach as high as games theses days. Chicago won 15 to 11 and won the first game of college basketball. -
Founded Basketball Program
He not only invented the game of basketball, he founded one of the most successful basketball programs to this day, the University of Kansas. -
Open-ended Nets were Introduced
To simplify the game even more, Naismith replaced the hammock-style nets to the open-ended nets of today, so players didn't have to keep retreiving the ball ou to the basket. -
Stock Market Crash
Great Depression -
Basketball Becomes Olympic Sport
Basketball became an official Olympic sport in 1936. This was the first year that it was played in the Olympics. The United States won the Gold medal in the 1936 Olympics. -
First NCAA Championship
The first NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament played in 1937, involved 8 schools, playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. Oregon, coached by Howard Hobson, won the national title with a 46-33 victory in the championship game over Ohio State, coached by Harold Olsen. -
Death
On November 28, 1939, James A. Naismith passed away and is now remembered as the game's most influential man.