James Naismith Reveals How He Created The Game Of Basketball

“I showed them two peach baskets I’d nailed up at each end of the gym, and I told them the idea was to throw the ball into the opposing team’s peach basket, I blew a whistle, and the first game of basketball began.”

The boys being used to football, wrestling, and rugby, Naismith needed to adjust the rules shortly to the way the game is played today after the first basketball game under his instruction. Students were getting beaten up, black eyes, kicked, and one student apparently got knocked unconscious.

“The boys began tackling, kicking and punching in the clinches. They ended up in a free-for-all in the middle of the gym floor.”

“The most important one was that there should be no running with the ball, that stopped tackling and slugging. We tried out the game with those rules, and we didn’t have one casualty.”