The first basketball game

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If the weather in the state of Massachusetts had not been rainy and very, very cold on an ordinary day in the 19th century, perhaps the world would never have been able to enjoy one of the most popular team sports of the moment - basketball. But, thanks to the freezing cold of Springfield and a genius PE teacher, today billions can watch with delight every day one of the most attractive sports.

On December 1, 1891, it is an ordinary day in Springfield - it is raining, it is cold outside, and the teacher of physical education and sports at the local "Springfield College" - James Naismith, wonders how to conduct an activity that is both useful for his students, but also indoors.

After rejecting several options, Naismith settles on one of his hitherto unrealized ideas. He hands a soccer ball to his students, nails a peach basket to the 10-foot-high wall, and outlines a few simple rules. He calls the game "basketball." And on December 1, 1891, the first basketball game in history was played.

It is very far from what we are used to seeing at the moment. The first match was played by 9 people and ended with a 1:0 victory for one team (only one basket scored in the match). On top of that, the "workout" is ended early as it gets into a serious melee between the participants.

"Because of my big mistake, the boys started pushing, kicking and punching each other. They ended with a massive brawl in the center of the pitch. Before I could break them up one was knocked out, several of them had bruised eyes, and one boy had his shoulder dislocated. There was an attempt at murder,' Naismith admits in an old radio interview that was republished just a few years ago (in 2015).

"After the first game, I thought they were going to kill each other. Instead, the boys kept asking me to let them play again. That's why I came up with additional rules. The most important was the ban on running with the ball in hands. This stopped the pushing and shoving. We tried the new rules and the match ended without a single casualty. It turned out to be a wonderful, pure sport," adds the father of basketball.

Thus, a "barbaric" in its first combat sport becomes a super intelligent game that delights millions daily to this day. And for that we have James Naismith to thank – creator of (arguably) the greatest game in history.