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THE GOLDEN JUBILEE OF BASKETBALL

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of
basketball. In the short period of half a century,
this truly American game has not only flourished
here in its own country, but has found favor in
virtually all the far flung places of the world.
Quietly and steadily it has enlisted a vast army
of millions of players and innumerable enthusiasts,
until today it is the most popular sport in the
entire category of competitive athletics.

Basketball, even in its crude beginnings, was a
friendly game, easy to play, yet difficult to master.
It appealed to large and small, fast and slow, adept
and clumsy, regardless of age or sex. Small wonder
it caught the fancy of youth the world over, and
spread the wholesome doctrine of fair play and good
sportsmanship among its heterogeneous adherents.

Because of the popularity of the game, its far
reaching influence on youth, and its importance in
the American scheme of things, the fiftieth anniversary
of the invention of basketball by Dr. James Naismith
at Springfield College in 1891 will be observed ina
year of international celebration beginning in December,
1941.

The focal point of the celebration will be the city
of Springfield, Massachusetts, and it is from there
thet the Naismith Memorial Committee has arranged to
direct the activities of the Golden Jubilee of Basket-
ball on the widest possible scale. The United States,
Canada, Mexico, and South American countries will take
part in the memorial celebration. It is hoped condi-
tions will make it possible for many other countries
to participate in the Golden Jubilee of Basketball.

Obviously, it is only fitting to do honor to the
memory of a man who made such a generous contribution
to American sports. And it is proper and just that
this monument to Dr. James Naismith rise on the site
where his far-reaching work was begun -- in the City of
Springfield, Massachusetts, the Birthplace of Basketball,