basketball History

The father of basketball, Dr. James Naismith, joined the game in 1892 and the first game was played in Beaver Falls Pennsylvania on April 8, 1893 between the New Brighton YMCA and Geneva College.
The game was very popular and in 1914 boasted as many as 360 college basketball teams. In 1939, the first NCAA Men’s College Championship Championship was held, which was won by the University of Oregon.

The formation of Pro Basketball in 1896 stemmed from a conflict between YMCA team members and officials and ended up in the members forming a professional team playing for money. In 1898, the NBL (National Basketball League) was formed and produced the first basketball stars - Ed Wachter and Barney Sedran.

The first two professional basketball teams to achieve success were the Buffalo Germans and Celtics, but in the 1930s favorites included the New York Renaissance and the Harlem Globetrotters. During this time, women's basketball was also popular, producing great players such as Babe Didrikson and Alline Banks Sprouse.

In 1940, the first college basketball game was shown on television. This game was played between Pittsburgh and Fordham at Madison Square Garden and catapulted basketball into a national sensation. Since then, basketball has been one of the most watched sports and in fact march-madness, with nearly 350 U.S. colleges competing for the NCAA basketball crown is the most-watched event in the United States.

In Pro Basketball in the 1940s and 50s, the Minneapolis Lakers were a huge favorite of many, winning 5 NBA championship titles and producing starts like Bob Cousy and Bob Pettit. But in the late 1950s until 1969, the Celtics got the right to win 11 NBA forum (8 f straight ones). In this era, favorite players included Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlin of the Philadelphia Warriors.

From 1963 to 1975, the University of California, Los Angeles was in the limelight, winning 10 national championships, including seven in a row. Some of the big players of this UCLA team include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich and Marques Johnson.

In 1967, the American Basketball Association (ABA) was formed and many will remember one of the satirists Julius Erving as well as their red white and blue basketballs. The ABA only lasted until 1976, when it collapsed and many of the teams joined the NBA.

In the 1960s, women's basketball introduced the 5 player full court format and made the dribble fully legal, but it was not until 1985 that the Basketball Hall of Fame began to introduce women's coaches and players. Some of the first women to receive this honor include Carol Blazejowski, Ann Meyers, Cheryl Miller; Nancy Lieberman-Cline and Anne Donovan.

In the late 1970s, players like Larry Bird of Indiana State University and Michigan State Universities emerged Magic Johnson, and in the late 1980s saw such great players as Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman. But perhaps the most beloved player of all is Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s.