Creator of Basketball

This passage is about the man who invented the game of basketball.

Lexile Level: 480L

Categories: History People & Places Sports & Health

Basketball is played by a lot of people. One man invented basketball. That man was James Naismith. He created basketball in 1891. Naismith was born in 1861. He was born in Ontario, Canada. Naismith was a physical education instructor when he invented basketball. He worked at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. That school is known as Springfield College today. Naismith used peach baskets when he created the game. A peach basket is a big round basket used to hold peaches. Naismith nailed the peach baskets up on the wall of the gymnasium. He used a soccer ball for the first game. Naismith made the first rules for the game. At first, there was no dribbling. The ball could only be moved by passing it. Later, Naismith became director of physical education at the University of Kansas. Naismith died in 1937. Today, basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. Today, the game is different. Some of Naismith's rules are still used in basketball. New rules have been added, too.