James Naismith
From Wiki 5A
On November 6, 1861, a boy was born that would change the lives of many people. His name was James Naismith, the only son of John and Margret Naismith. He was born in Canada. James was an orphan, but at the age of eight went to stay with his bachelor uncle.
When James was eighteen he left home and went to Presbyterian College, meanwhile working in Physical Education. He played football for Presbyterian. James enrolled in the Y.M.C.A training school in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the course of Physical Training.
While at the Y.M.C.A. James's teacher told him to his class to make up a game to play between baseball and football in the Spring, so James nailed two peach baskets at the end of each wall in the gym, then used a soccer ball to try and make it into one of the baskets. After they made it, they had to use a ladder to get the ball down from the basket. This sport is now known as basketball, a very well known sport in America. James was the first basketball coach to assemble a team of five players. He was also Kansas's first basketball coach. James Naismith died on November 28, 1939, but his legend will always live on about the man that invented basketball.
