Basketball, the high-flying and athleticism-laden sport now popularized around the world, was created in, yes, you guessed it, Massachusetts by Dr. James Naismith in 1891.
The then 31-year-old graduate student studying physical education at what is now Springfield College sought an indoor activity for students to participate in between the conclusion of football season and the beginning of the next baseball season. Naismith, with the help of a janitor, secured a ball and two peach baskets, nailing each to the height of a balcony which just so happened to be 10 feet off the ground – the same height as the regulation rim in the sport today.
Using Naismith’s original 13 rules, which described how to move the ball, keep score, and what was considered a foul, the first game of basketball was played on December 21, 1891, at the International Young Men’s Christian Association Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts (now Springfield College). A bit different than what we know the sport to be today, the inaugural contest pitted two teams of nine players against each other, each trying to throw the ball into the other’s peach basket.
Founded as a recreational activity, basketball has since set the world ablaze, renowned for the global reach and international household names the sport provides. Basketball has intertwined with popular culture over the past five decades through sneaker deals such as Larry Bird with Boston-based Converse and Michael Jordan with Nike and continued to reach new heights, with historic viewership ratings for the Women’s National Basketball Association in May 2024, in large part due to the stardom of Indiana Fever rookie and former University of Iowa standout Caitlin Clark.
While a neighboring state of ours may claim to be the basketball capital of the world, Massachusetts is the sport’s home (sorry, Connecticut). The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame resides in Springfield, and we are home to the Boston Celtics, the 18-time National Basketball Association and reigning champions after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in June. We know a thing or two about winning, just ask Bill Russell.
And those Celtics teams did more than just win on the court. They made history.
In 1950, the Celtics became the first team in the NBA to draft a Black player, selecting Chuck Cooper with the 14th overall pick. Cooper, who played at Duquesne University and then with the Harlem Globetrotters, made his debut for the C’s on November 1, 1950, against the Fort Wayne Pistons, and was just the start of the Celtics breaking down barriers.
On December 26, 1964, with Holy Cross’ own and future Basketball Hall of Famer as a player and coach Tommy Heinsohn nursing an injury, legendary coach Red Auerbach fielded the first all-Black starting lineup in the league’s history, starting Bill Russell, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Willie Naulls. Russell, one of the most iconic players in Celtics and NBA history later became the first Black head coach in NBA history when he assumed the role in 1966, leading the club to back-to-back championships in the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons.
As the birthplace of basketball, Massachusetts takes pride in the rich sports history of our state, knowing that much like the many firsts in our nation’s first 250 years, we have revolutionized the nation.
