Timeline: The History of Basketball

Dec 15, 1891

The Creation of Basketball

December 15, 1891
James Naismith was the Canadian physical education instructor who invented basketball in 1891.He was the physical education teacher at McGill University (1887 to 1890) and at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts (1890 to 1895).

Dec 16, 1891

The Basket and Ball

wikipedia
After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track.

Period: Jan 15, 1892 to Jan 14, 1940

How Basketball Rules changed in 1900-1940

The Change in Rules
The Dribbler could not shoot for a field goal; the ball had to be passed to another player.Players were disqualified from game after fourth foul.The bottom of basket must be left open so ball could fall through it.Traveling was also changed from a personal foul to a violation.
In 1936-37, The greatest changes in basketball were made including Basketball without laces made legal.

Mar 11, 1892

First Game of Basketball

1890's
The students and workers of the School for Christian Workers play the first ever public game of basket ball.

Mar 22, 1892

Basketball for women

Womens Basketball
Smith College in Massachusetts becomes the first women's school to play basket ball. Men are not allowed to watch the games.

Aug 7, 1936

Basketball was introduced to The Olympic Games

Basketball to Olympics
Basketball at the 1936 Summer Olympics was the first appearance of the sport as an official medal event. The tournament was played between August 7th and August 14th 1936 in Berlin, Germany. 23 nations entered the competition, making basketball the largest tournament of the team sports.

Feb 28, 1940

First televised basketball game

1940's
The first televised basketball games were played between Pittsburgh and Fordham (57-37) and New York University and Georgetown (50-27) at Madison Square Garden.

Aug 3, 1946

The National Basketball Association of America

NBA
The Basketball Association of America, a forerunner of the NBA is formed. (Three of the league's orginal 11 franchises are still playing today- the New York Knickerbockers, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors)

Oct 31, 1950

The NBA Becomes Intergrated

Six Who Paved the Way
The NBA begins racial integration when Earl Loyd, Nat Clifton and Chuck Cooper join the league.

Feb 17, 1963

A Legend was Born.

Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffery Jordan also known as The Greatest Basketball Player Of All Time was born on February 17, 1963. After a three-season career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984.