class that others had been unable to handle.. Naismith after
working on a new game gave it to this class, and from that
day on never had any more disturbance for those eighteen boys
took to the game and relished every available minute that they:
were allowed to play.. That game has grown from one that off-
ered entertainment and recreation to eighteen future Y.M.C.A..
secretaries to one that attracts, as it did last year, eighty
million people under its portals. The game was given inter-
national recognition in the 1936 Olympics when 21 nations com-
peted for the championship which was awarded to the United St-
atese. To show how the game has grown from the eastern coast
of the United States to the farmost eastern point in the world,,
would be comparatively easy if E. C. Quigley, national auth-
ority in referring and officiating, were to tell you of the
number of participants and the interest that the Japanese show-
ed in an elimination contest that he had the job of handling..
Today you and I are remotely interested in things that
occur outside of our community and yet when we read of the
game of basketball being played in the Olympics and all of the
major powers and secondary powers with the exception of Spain,
entered into competition we must surely comprehend that the
game has grown to gigantic proportions... The reasons for this
rapid growth and why it should be part of every high school
curriculum is the real purpose of my speaking here tonight..
The game was originally developed to give youths an opp-

ortunity for recreation throught play during the winter months..

Its wide acceptance by youths who pledge allegience to many