Basketball
Basketball was invented in 1891 by Dr James Naismith at Springfield College Massachusetts When the game was first played, peach baskets were nailed up at each end of the gymnasium as “goals”, hence the origin of the name “basketball”. Upon the request of his boss, Naismith was tasked to create an indoor sports game to help athletes keep in shape in cold weather. He published 13 rules for the new game. He divided his class of eighteen into two teams of nine players each and set about to teach them the basics of his new game. The objective of the game was to throw the basketball into the fruit baskets nailed to the lower railing of the gym balcony. Every time a point was scored, the game was halted so the janitor could bring out a ladder and retrieve the ball. After a while, the bottoms of the fruit baskets were removed. The first public basketball game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 11, 1892.