110 YEARS OF KANSAS BASKETBALL
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
'HOW BASKET BALL CAME TO BE BORN'
James Naismith explains how he invented the game.
Editors note: The following is an essay written by James Naismith for the Feb. 13, 1912, edition of The University Daily Kansan. The background of this page is the actual front page of the edition of The Kansan that featured Naismith's essay.
The game of basket-ball originated partly by the endeavor to create a form of athletic exercise along the line of football and partly by accident," said Dr. Naismith at the gymnasium today.
"It was while I was at the Springfield Training School in Massachusetts in 1891," he continued, "that we discovered that the men who had played on the football team were not taking any interest in gymnasium exercise after the season had closed. They had been used to quick action and pitting their wits against their opponents, and the routine work with the dumbbells and Indian clubs was exceedingly irksome to them. The man who was the leader of the class became discouraged and gave it up, and I was invited to take his place.
"I realized that the men wanted some sort of a game that would be not only beneficial but also interesting. In other words the men wanted something they could have some fun in. The
only thing that I did was to try to find something of that sort.
TRIED DEHORNED FOOTBALL.
"At first we tried a form of 'dehorned' football, but that was too rough. Next followed soccer and then lacrosse, but none met the requirements of our small gymnasium. One day the question happened to strike me: What makes football rough? and the answer came — the tackling. What makes the tackling? The only way of stopping the man running with the ball. Why not eliminate the running and that would eliminate the tackling? But you can't play a game and stand still all the while. Then I conceived the idea of letting all the men run except the man with the ball and he would have to pass it before he could run.
"That point settled and experimented with and found satisfactory, the next that came up was the question of goals. An ordinary football goal would be too easy to make, a goal such as was used in lacrosse or soccer would likely be easily torn down by sending the ball into it with great force. I thought of the plan of turning the
goal up horizontally so that the ball instead of being thrown in forcibly would have to describe an arc before it entered. I thought at first of placing it about two feet off of the floor and then I realized that all a goal keeper would have to do was to sit on it and it would be impossible for the opponents to score. I then thought of placing it up above the players' heads.
PEACH BASKETS, ERGO BASKET BALL.
"I went to the janitor and asked for some sort of box. It just happened that he procured a couple of baskets (such as peaches are shipped in) about 18 inches across at the top and tapering down toward the bottom. We nailed these up on the gallery which happened to be just 10 feet high. The name 'basket-ball' has clung to the game ever since, and the official height of the goals has remained just 10 feet.
The game was very successful in giving the men indoor exercise and training, and when vacation came in the summer the men went to their various homes all over the United States and carried the game with them."
spring 2008 kansan staff
Editor in Chief Darla Slipke
Managing Editors Matt Erickson
Dianne Smith
Special Sections Editor Matt Lindberg
Design Chief Drew Bergman
Designers Maddie Herman
Kevin Grunwald
Bryan Marvin
Imagers Jon Goering
Marla Keown
Mindy Ricketts
Rachel Anne Seymour
Peter Soto
Advertising Director Toni Bergquist
Sales Manager Katy Pitt
Advertising Layout Austin Falley
Megan Gonzales
General Manager and News Adviser Malcolm Gibson
Sales and Marketing Adviser Jon Schlitt
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The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. This publication is a commemorative issue marking 110 years of Kansas basketball. For students, the first copy is paid for by the student activity fee. For all others and for extra copies, the publication costs $3. They can be bought at the Kansan business office, 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall, or at the KU Bookstore in the Kansas Union, 1301 Jayhawk Bldd, Lawrence, KS 66045.
editor's note
I've been watching Jayhawk basketball since the mid-1990s when Paul Pierce was still at Kansas. My family moved around a lot, so I tried to follow KU basketball wherever I was. When we lived in Chicago, I remember watching the games that were nationally televised and catching the highlights with my dad on Sports Center after dinner. When my family moved to Kansas City, I became an even bigger Jayhawk fan.
There is no denying the meaning and popularity of KU basketball. Whether it be the start of it all with James Naismith, the Wilt Chamberlain era or our current team, Jayhawk fans around the world pride themselves in the tradition of KU basketball.
I remember watching the news reports that questioned whether Roy Williams would leave Kansas for North Carolina at the end of two different seasons. I was relieved he stayed the first time and disappointed the second time when he chose to leave.
I remember when Kansas lost to Syracuse in the 2003 NCAA Championship and of course, the thrill of watching Bill Self and the more recent Jayhawk squads win the
Big 12.
When I was asked to lead the effort in putting together this publication celebrating 110 years of KU basketball, I was excited and honored. KU basketball has so much great history.
My co-workers and I strived to find the best way to reflect on 110 years of KU basketball history. We spent countless hours working — from writing and editing stories to designing pages and searching through thousands of photos with help from University Archives.
Kansas basketball is something to be proud of, and we've done our best to make this publication something to be proud of, too.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN