Basketball · Interessante Fakten
Kapitel 1: Geschichte und Ursprünge
10 Tests · 100 Fakten · aktualisiert am 24. Oktober 2026 · Markdown
Curiosities from basketball's past: the game's first months, Naismith's own life, cages and early rules, the game's first homes abroad, college firsts, the Black Fives and the barrier-breakers, the first foreign players, Canada, Springfield and the leagues and teams that vanished.
1.11The Game's First Months
How the game got its name, the first rules, the first public game and the first drawing of it.
Test 1the first months of the gameTest machen
Naismith laughed the idea off, and Mahan then proposed 'basket ball'.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Players knocked a stone off a rock by throwing another stone in an arc.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
'Pop' Stebbins had no boxes of that size and found the baskets in a storeroom.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The rules gave five minutes' rest between the halves.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The students won 5-1.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
They crowded into the small Springfield gym.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Stagg went on to coach football at the University of Chicago for 41 seasons.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Autumn 1891, December 1891 and March 1892.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
December 1891, March 1893 and February 1895.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Genzabaro Ishikawa sketched the gym, the baskets and the players.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1.12Naismith Away From the Court
Naismith the student, doctor, Kansas teacher and coach, and the rules he left behind.
Test 1James Naismith's life beyond the inventionTest machen
He was raised by an uncle near Almonte, Ontario.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
He was trained for the ministry before turning to physical education.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
He qualified as a doctor at Gross Medical College.
Quelle: University of Kansas Athletics, 'James Naismith' and Allen Fieldhouse history (kuathletics.com) · Wissen
He lectured American troops on health and conduct.
Quelle: University of Kansas Athletics, 'James Naismith' and Allen Fieldhouse history (kuathletics.com) · Wissen
He had lived in the United States for more than thirty years by then.
Quelle: University of Kansas Athletics, 'James Naismith' and Allen Fieldhouse history (kuathletics.com) · Wissen
The two typed pages fetched $4,338,500 at Sotheby's in New York.
Quelle: Sotheby's, 'James Naismith's Founding Rules of Basket Ball', sale result, December 2010 (sothebys.com) · Wissen
He had turned 30 in November that year.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
His boyhood home, McGill and the Presbyterian College, the YMCA school from 1890 and Kansas from 1898.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1941, two years after his death; 1968; and 2010.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The arena honours the pupil and the floor honours the teacher.
Quelle: University of Kansas Athletics, 'James Naismith' and Allen Fieldhouse history (kuathletics.com) · Wissen
1.13Cages and Early Rules
Fenced courts, a free-throw specialist, the first time limits and the Buffalo Germans.
Test 1fenced courts and early rulesTest machen
From 1924 the fouled player had to take his own free throws.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
It was brought in to stop teams stalling in their own half.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
The Buffalo club later won 111 games in a row.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Players raced after loose balls into the crowd, one reason courts were fenced in.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Tall centres had been parking under the basket for easy shots.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
Opaque wooden boards blocked the view from seats behind the baskets.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The mesh was hard and sharp, and bodies were thrown into it on loose balls.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1895, about 1914 and 1923.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The 1890s, 1932 and the 1960s.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The fence kept the ball in play, so there was no out of bounds.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1.14Das Spiel geht ins Ausland
France, the YMCA in China, Brazil and the Philippines, the Far Eastern Games and the 1919 Inter-Allied Games.
Test 1basketball's first homes outside the United StatesTest machen
Rideout was one of Naismith's students in Springfield.
Quelle: UCJG Paris (YMCA de Paris), 14 rue de Trévise: 'la plus ancienne salle de basket du monde' (ucjgparis.org) · Wissen
Basketball was on the programme from the very first games.
Quelle: Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, history (sbp.ph); Olympic World Library, Far Eastern Championship Games reports (library.olympics.com) · Wissen
Tianjin is often called the cradle of Chinese basketball.
Quelle: FIBA, 'Basketball in China' (fiba.basketball); Tianjin YMCA history · Wissen
Augusto Shaw introduced it at Mackenzie College.
Quelle: Confederação Brasileira de Basketball, 'História do basquete no Brasil' (cbb.com.br) · Wissen
The games were held about every two years until 1934.
Quelle: Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, history (sbp.ph); Olympic World Library, Far Eastern Championship Games reports (library.olympics.com) · Wissen
Brown organised the Far Eastern Games from 1913, where basketball was played.
Quelle: Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, history (sbp.ph); Inter-Allied Games official report, 1919 · Wissen
American servicemen had learned the game at YMCA huts during the war.
Quelle: Inter-Allied Games official report, Paris 1919; International Encyclopedia of the First World War (1914-1918-online.net) · Wissen
1913, 1919 and 1932.
Quelle: Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, history (sbp.ph); Olympic World Library, Far Eastern Championship Games reports (library.olympics.com) · Wissen
1893, 1896 and around 1910.
Quelle: FIBA (fiba.basketball); national federations' histories · Wissen
It was named after General John Pershing and handed to France after the games.
Quelle: Inter-Allied Games official report, Paris 1919; International Encyclopedia of the First World War (1914-1918-online.net) · Wissen
1.15College Basketball's First Steps
The first college games, five a side, the NAIA, the NIT and the first NCAA tournament.
Test 1the early college gameTest machen
Minnesota's School of Agriculture won 9-3 at Hamline, in Saint Paul.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
Hamline lost on its own floor.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
His side met Chicago in Iowa City in January 1896.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
The Iowa line-up was a YMCA side that happened to study at the university.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
It began for small colleges and is still played every March.
Quelle: NAIA, 'Men's Basketball Championship history' (naia.org) · Wissen
Oregon, the 'Tall Firs', beat Ohio State in the final in Evanston.
Quelle: NCAA, 'Men's Basketball Championship history' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
Temple beat Colorado in the final at Madison Square Garden.
Quelle: National Invitation Tournament history (ncaa.com/nit) · Wissen
1895, 1896, 1938 and 1939.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
The 1940s, the 1950s and the late 1960s.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
Neither side used a substitute in the whole game.
Quelle: NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com) · Wissen
1.16Black Fives and Breaking Barriers
The Black Fives era, the Rens and the players and coaches who broke the colour line.
Test 1the Black Fives and the barrier-breakersTest machen
Henderson learned the game at Harvard's summer school.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 'New York Renaissance' and 'Edwin Bancroft Henderson' (hoophall.com) · Wissen
From 1904 to 1950 all-Black clubs and church teams played across the country.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 'New York Renaissance' and 'Edwin Bancroft Henderson' (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Douglas ran the team for more than twenty years.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 'New York Renaissance' and 'Edwin Bancroft Henderson' (hoophall.com) · Wissen
He played for the New York Knicks in 1947-48.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
He won gold in London and later played in the 1953 NBA All-Star Game.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The Rens often played well over 100 games a season on the road.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 'New York Renaissance' and 'Edwin Bancroft Henderson' (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Russell, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones, Satch Sanders and Willie Naulls started together.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
1904, 1923, 1947 and 1950.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 'New York Renaissance' and 'Edwin Bancroft Henderson' (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1959, 1963 and 2002.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The floor was cleared for dancing after the games.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 'New York Renaissance' and 'Edwin Bancroft Henderson' (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1.17The First Foreign Players in the NBA
Biasatti, Thompson, Marčiulionis, Sabonis and the first picks and MVPs from abroad.
Test 1the first players from abroad in the NBATest machen
Born in Italy and raised in Canada, he played for the Toronto Huskies.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
He played first base for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1949.
Quelle: Canada Basketball (basketball.ca); NBA History, 'The first game: Toronto Huskies v New York Knicks, 1946' (nba.com) · Wissen
Portland took him first overall.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
The Lithuanian guard joined the Golden State Warriors.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
Soviet rules and injuries kept him in Europe for nine years.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
The Italian forward went to the Toronto Raptors.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
Parker's Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
1978, 1984 and 2006.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
1946, 1985, 1989 and 1995.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
Houston picked the Chinese centre in 2002.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
1.18Basketball and Canada
The first NBA basket in Toronto, the one-season Huskies, the Raptors and Canada's first picks.
Test 1Naismith's homeland and the NBATest machen
The Knicks guard scored a lay-up early in the game in Toronto.
Quelle: Canada Basketball (basketball.ca); NBA History, 'The first game: Toronto Huskies v New York Knicks, 1946' (nba.com) · Wissen
It was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team.
Quelle: Canada Basketball (basketball.ca); NBA History, 'The first game: Toronto Huskies v New York Knicks, 1946' (nba.com) · Wissen
Part of the baseball stadium was curtained off for the court.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
They folded after 1946-47; Toronto had no NBA team again until 1995.
Quelle: Canada Basketball (basketball.ca); NBA History, 'The first game: Toronto Huskies v New York Knicks, 1946' (nba.com) · Wissen
The Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
Cleveland took him; Wiggins went first a year later.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
They beat the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
1946, 1995-96, 2001 and 2019.
Quelle: Canada Basketball (basketball.ca); NBA History, 'The first game: Toronto Huskies v New York Knicks, 1946' (nba.com) · Wissen
2013, 2014 and 2019.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
Nostrand stood about 6 ft 8 in.
Quelle: Canada Basketball (basketball.ca); NBA History, 'The first game: Toronto Huskies v New York Knicks, 1946' (nba.com) · Wissen
1.19Springfield, Birthplace of the Game
Springfield College, the Hall of Fame's buildings and the city's ties to the game.
Test 1Springfield and the Hall of FameTest machen
It had been the International YMCA College since 1912.
Quelle: Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The first building stood on the Springfield College campus.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The New York barnstormers of the 1920s were honoured as a team.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Naismith, Phog Allen and George Mikan were among the first.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Each class is enshrined at a ceremony in Springfield.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The building looks out over the river in downtown Springfield.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
It is given each year at the enshrinement weekend.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1968, 1985 and 2002.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1975, 2009 and 2020.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The silver sphere is lit at night.
Quelle: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
1.20Leagues and Teams That Vanished
The ABA's striped ball, the Spirits' deal and the early NBA teams that folded.
Test 1leagues and teams that no longer existTest machen
They had won the ABA title only the year before.
Quelle: NBA History, 'ABA' and defunct franchises (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Julius Erving led them past Denver in the final.
Quelle: NBA History, 'ABA' and defunct franchises (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
They were paid for decades until a 2014 settlement.
Quelle: NBA History, 'ABA' and defunct franchises (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
He took them to the 1949 finals before moving on.
Quelle: NBA History, 'ABA' and defunct franchises (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
The Sheboygan Red Skins played only that one NBA season.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
Stars of Kentucky's title-winning college side owned and played for the team.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
Today's Washington Wizards are a later franchise that took the Bullets name.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
1947, 1950 (out of the NBA), 1954 and 1976.
Quelle: NBA History (nba.com/history) · Wissen
1946, 1961 and 1967.
Quelle: NBA History, 'ABA' and defunct franchises (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Mikan had been the first great centre of the NBA.
Quelle: NBA History, 'ABA' and defunct franchises (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · Wissen
Quellen
Primary/official sources only, no Wikipedia citations: the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the NBA, FIBA, the EuroLeague, the NCAA, the WNBA, clubs' and universities' own histories, auction houses' published results and named reputable media.
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com)26
- NBA History (nba.com/history)20
- Springfield College archives (springfield.edu); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com)9
- NCAA, 'What we know about the first college basketball game ever played' (ncaa.com)9
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 'New York Renaissance' and 'Edwin Bancroft Henderson' (hoophall.com)6
- Canada Basketball (basketball.ca); NBA History, 'The first game: Toronto Huskies v New York Knicks, 1946' (nba.com)6
- NBA History, 'ABA' and defunct franchises (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com)6
- University of Kansas Athletics, 'James Naismith' and Allen Fieldhouse history (kuathletics.com)4
- Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, history (sbp.ph); Olympic World Library, Far Eastern Championship Games reports (library.olympics.com)3
- Inter-Allied Games official report, Paris 1919; International Encyclopedia of the First World War (1914-1918-online.net)2
- Sotheby's, 'James Naismith's Founding Rules of Basket Ball', sale result, December 2010 (sothebys.com)1
- UCJG Paris (YMCA de Paris), 14 rue de Trévise: 'la plus ancienne salle de basket du monde' (ucjgparis.org)1
- FIBA, 'Basketball in China' (fiba.basketball); Tianjin YMCA history1
- Confederação Brasileira de Basketball, 'História do basquete no Brasil' (cbb.com.br)1
- Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, history (sbp.ph); Inter-Allied Games official report, 19191
- FIBA (fiba.basketball); national federations' histories1
- NAIA, 'Men's Basketball Championship history' (naia.org)1
- NCAA, 'Men's Basketball Championship history' (ncaa.com)1
- National Invitation Tournament history (ncaa.com/nit)1