The Early Game of Basketball

It was December of 1891 at a gymnastics class when the unnamed invention was introduced. Dr. James Naismith. a physical education teacher, introduced his class to a new sport. Dr. James Naismith nailed peach baskets to a lower rail on the balcony at both ends of the YMCA gym and grabbed a soccer ball. He wrote a list of 13 rules onto a bulletin board, only later to find that the rules would be stolen. Frank Mahon, one of his own students, confessed to the crime and knew that the newly invented game would be a success. Mahon would later suggest a name for the new sport which would live to be the term basketball.

Here are the original 13 rules of the newly born game of basketball:

1: The ball can be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.

2: The ball can be batted in any direction with one or both hands but without using the fist.

3: The player who is holding the ball cannot run, they must throw it from the spot in which they catch it. If you were running at a good speed, then you would be allowed a few steps to stop.

4: The body cannot be used for holding the ball, the ball must be held in or between the hands.

5: You can not shoulder, hold, push, trip, strike, or hit a player. The first offense would be a foul, later followed by being disqualified until the next goal was made. If someone intended to hurt someone then they would be out for the whole game.

6: If you strike the ball with your fist then it is a foul.

7: If the other side makes 3 consecutive fouls then it is a goal for the other side.

8: A goal is made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and the ball stays in the basket. If the ball is on the edge and the opposing player moves the ball then it is a goal.

9: When the ball is out of the field, then the ball will be thrown into the field and the first person to touch it has possession, if an argument erupts then the umpire throws it again into the field.

10: The umpire is the judge of the men and and notes the fouls and notifies the referee.

11: The referee is the judge of the ball and decides when the ball is in play, in bounds, and to what team it belongs to, and keeps the time. The referee decides when a goal has been made and keeps count of the goals.

12: Their are 2 15 minutes halves, with a 5 minute rest between them.

13: The side who makes the most goals will be declared the winner. If their is a draw then by agreement of the captains the winner will be the one who makes the next goal.