CORPUS CHRISTI (USA) - Direct descendants of Dr. James Naismith have joined FIBA in the celebration of World Basketball Day, on December 21, by speaking about basketball's creator and the sport.
Even though the game we love has grown tremendously, the spirit of what Dr James Naismith wanted to infuse in basketball is still there. And World Basketball Day is the perfect opportunity to share this conversation.
Naismith's grandson James (Jim), who visited the House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland, 3 years ago to celebrate FIBA's 90 birthday, along with his wife, Beverly, and Jim's son, Dr. Robert Naismith, live in Corpus Christi, Texas.
And each understood that the great man's vision for basketball was to have it make the world a better place.
Beverly provided some insight to Naismith before he invented the game.
"Growing up, Naismith's family wanted him to be a preacher," Beverly said. "He was a strong religious believer. And he thought about that."
Naismith had an awakening when he was at McGill University in Montreal, where he studied for four years. He finished with honors in Hebrew and philosophy.
Beverly said: "One time, when he was playing rugby, somebody let out some expletives, and then he looked over at Jim (James Naismith) and said, 'Aw, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were here.'
"He realized that he could have an influence on the playing field. And that was the turning point for him to go towards his ministry of helping young men grow up and have a wonderful life."
Beverly described Naismith as "a renaissance man."
"He sang in the choir, played the violin," she said, giving new meaning to the phrase "string music" in basketball. "He was such a strong athlete. They grew up playing all kinds of games."
Helping others was something that was ingrained in Naismith, along with the value of hard work.
His whole life was about taking care of people
"His whole life was about taking care of people," Jim said. "My dad told me he (Naismith) didn't sleep very much. He said that was wasted time. If he took a nap, on the couch or whatever, he'd have something heavy in his hand and if he dropped it, 'bam', it was time to wake up."
Robert echoed this thought, when asked if his great grandfather would have had positive thoughts about the globalization of basketball.
"Definitely," he said. "Because he invented it for human development, both spiritual and physical. He wanted everybody to play it. He would have a lot joy seeing that it's played in over 200 countries. Just about as many as there are."
Some may have the perception that basketball's globalization is a more recent phenomenon, yet Robert and Beverly pointed out that at the very start, the game went around the world.
"Regarding the global reach," Robert said, "he really did that from the beginning because at the YMCA college, a lot of those men that were trained there were missionaries, so they took basketball around the world with them."
Beverly added: "1892 it was in Mexico. 1893 it was in France and that gym is still there. 1895, China and India. And then after 1900, you had Asia, Australia, South America and Europe."
Basketball has a profound influence on culture, politics and communities everywhere.
"I think it was invented to be a positive force in people's lives," Robert said. "As Dad has slowed down some, it was nice that he has let me come in and work with the Hall of Fame and some of the other basketball organizations.
"It's been really fun to just talk to some of the players. The game has saved lives."
The game has saved lives
Robert then spoke of a player that he met that had a common story in basketball.
"He came from a very rough upbringing, and really he brings the whole family up," he said. "If that player is married and has kids, and they bring in Mom and uncles and a whole extended family benefits from that."
"That kid was one that went and got on the subway in New York and went across town to play in the park, and he just got better and better and better. That game brought up the whole family... it's (basketball) used there to give people something to do that's positive and occupy their time in a little bit better way."
Beverly spoke of how basketball brings positive change for entire communities.
"I had an opportunity to talk to (Basketball Africa League President) Amadou Gallo Fall, and he was telling us how they have about four main gyms in Africa. When they built a gym, for instance, then the whole city benefitted. You had stores, you had businesses, so you get the side effects."
The humble beginnings are a big part of the creation of basketball.
When Jim came to Mies in 2014, he reminded us that his grandfather had invented basketball while a physical education instructor at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts.
He was not looking to create a game that would necessarily blossom into one of the most important sports in the world. It was a far simpler aim.
"They (students) were trying to stay in shape during the winter when it was cold and snowing," Jim said. "They didn't like what they had to do and he was challenged to come up with something they would enjoy."
"The story is that he tried several games. He took soccer (football) and changed it to where you could play it inside, but that didn't work; lacrosse didn't work; (American) football didn't work; rugby didn't work (laughs)."
"We discovered a partial set of handwritten notes in which he describes the procedure he went through in thinking up the game of basketball."
It took a while but Naismith finally got it.
"He starts playing it in his head," Jim told us in 2014. "He's got 18 men playing this game in his head (nine on each team) and then he can finally see how they are moving the ball down the court and making baskets."
"His comment was 'I've never played a game so hard in my life as the game I played that night in my bed.' He had to come up with it for the next day. It was his last chance as nothing else had worked."
When Dr James Naismith showed up for work the next day, he arrived with what are now called the 13 Original Rules and staged that first game. (These were auctioned off in 2010 with proceeds going to charity.)
The game did need some changes. Players were not allowed to run with the ball and basketball eventually allowed for dribbling.
Robert reflected on the rules.
"One of the rules that I liked was Rule No. 9, when they were talking about out of bounds and so forth," he said.
That rule stated: When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds; if he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that side.
"In the original rules," Robert said, "it refers to the first person touching it, which as I interpreted it, it was out of bounds. I can imagine the ball going out of bounds and everyone rushing to get it. This was my thought. Then later, there were the cages, where they would enclose them?"
"I don't know if that rule stood at that time, to protect the stands. But that one definitely needed to be changed a bit. And as he developed it, he was always one who, if it was going to make it a better game, let's fix it, make the rules better."
There was not a lot of talk about money and basketball in those nascent days.
"To me what's interesting, sport in today's world, that's millions of dollars," Jim said. "He (Dr James Naismith) never made a nickel off of the game. And that was intentional on his part. It was not about making money. It was about developing men and women, too. A little different world."
"He invented it for human development, both spiritual and physical," Robert said. "He wanted everybody to play it. He would have a lot joy seeing that it's played everywhere."
"The money in the game, that probably would not be his favorite thing. When it was invented, it wasn't to make people a lot of money, or to make Las Vegas a lot of money."
In 2024, Paris hosted what was arguably the greatest Olympic basketball tournament of all time, one that saw 12 teams compete and had many memorable moments, including USA's come-from-behind win over Serbia in the Semi-Finals and their hardfought triumph over France in the Gold Medal Game.
Naismith was on hand when the first Olympic basketball tournament was held in Berlin, in 1936.
Beverly said: "He said that the Olympics, that was the highlight of his life, going to the Olympics, seeing basketball all over the world, people coming and playing. That was the highlight of his life. "
That year, he was named as Honorary President of FIBA, 45 years after he invented basketball.
FIBA has honored James Naismith in different ways.
The trophy presented to the winner of the FIBA Basketball World Cup is named the Naismith Trophy.
Since June 18, 2022, a bronze sculpture of the great man greets visitors to the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies.
The statue shows a younger, smiling Naismith, since he was 30 years old when he invented basketball. He is looking forward, thus giving the impression that basketball would be spread around the world, and that it contributes to education by teaching values to young generations.
The statue also has a peach basket, a ball and the first 13 rules of the game.
The sculpture, which is made of bronze, together with all the details, weighs about 200 kg, and was made by Lithuanian sculptor, Lukas Siupsinskas.
FIBA