Happy B'day Mr. Naismith, Setting the Basketball Record Straight
On this date in 1861 (11/6/1861), Dr. James Naismith was born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada. Naismith is best known for being the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he is credited with writing the original rules for the game of in Springfield, Mass. in 1891. The problem is, evidence shows that a group of YMCA athletes had already been playing the game using peach baskets as nets, nearly a year before Naismith wrote the rules. In fact, some say there's evidence to show that a player in Herkimer actually sent the rules to Naismith in Springfield, and not the other way around.