January 1, 1970

Invented by Dr James Naismith in 1891, the original game of basketball was played at the YMCA International Training School with a football and two peach baskets nailed ten feet off the ground.

The YMCA played an integral role in spreading basketball throughout Europe and when the First World War broke out the American Expeditionary force brought basketball wherever they went. Another group that helped the spread of basketball was the Original Celtics who toured the country during the 1920s playing against teams such as the Rens who in 1923 became the first all-African American professional team. Although Naismith did not live long enough to witness the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1946, he was privileged enough to hand out the medals for basketball at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.