Shooting in the Driveway: How the Game Developed “I am sure that no man can derive more pleasure from money or power than I do from seeing a pair of basketball goals in some out of the way place” (Naismith). James Naismith was inspired to create basketball because of a game he played when he was a kid. The game was called “Duck on a rock”. In the game, players had to throw rocks at a duck in an attempt to knock it off of a rock. The catch: there was a large rock in front of the duck. Players had to arch the rocks over the rock that was protecting the duck (Stewart 6). James Naismith invented bas-ketball in 1891 for the sole purpose of helping kids stay fit during winter while having fun but it had evolved greatly (“Wonderopolis: Who Invented Basketball?”). Start of basketball James Naismith Invented Basketball in 1891. The game was invented while he was work-ing …show more content…
Instead, they used a soccer ball, which was not good for dribbling or ball handling (“The evolution of the game”). The first basketballs were produced by a bicycle company in 1894, three years after the sport was invented. They were leather and had laces. Because of this, they weren’t able to hold their shape. This made them hard to dribble. These balls were re-designed in 1929 with concealed laces which stopped the ball from bouncing erratically. The re-designed balls were lighter and bigger which made them easier to handle. Molded basketballs were made in 1942 which held its size and shape. “In the late 1890’s, Spalding took over as the official ball maker.” In 1905, teams could choose the ball they wanted to use for games. (“The evolution of the game”). The first games of basketball didn’t use a hoop like you see today. As a substitute they used peach bas-kets. James Naismith nailed the baskets to a balcony on both sides of the gym. The balcony was ten feet off of the ground, which made the baskets ten feet tall (Stewart