For the past nine months I have been conducting research to determine the importance of Crawfordsville, Indiana in the history of basketball.   This work is in support of a proposal by the Crawfordsville High School class of 1958 to create a basketball heritage memorial of some sort.   The record is clear and well documented that Crawfordsville High School was in 1911 the first IHSAA tournament champion and that the next seven...

I was one year old when James died. I never had the honor or privilege of meeting him. I do, however, know his life story as though it were my own.

Canadian James Naismith was a true sportsman.

James was born in 1861 on a small family farm in rural Canada. Both parents died when he was nine years old. A relative rescued James, along with his sister and brother, by sleigh. The three orphans were raised by an uncle and other relat...

1.  The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.

2.  The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist.

3.  A player cannot run with the ball.  The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed.

4.  The ball must be held in or between the hands.  The arms or body must not be used for holding it.

5....

Basketball: How It Began – Basketball’s origin is unique among world sports because it was actually invented.
Who: Dr. James A Naismith
When: December 21, 1891 at 11:30 a.m.
Where: The Y.M.C.A Training School located at the comer of State and Sherman in Springfield,Massachusetts
Why: “The invention of Basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play Drop the Handkerchief.”
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