Basketball was first invented in 1891 by James Naismith, a teacher at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. He created the indoor sport to keep young athletes busy and healthy during the cold months.
The first basketball “hoops” were actually just peach baskets with the bottoms intact, and the first backboards were made of wire. Officials had to get the ball out after each basket.
When basketball was first invented, dribbling wasn’t allowed. The moment players caught a ball, they had to throw it to another player. In 1897, dribbling became part of the game.
In the early 1900s, basketball players would play in cages of chicken wire and mesh so that they wouldn’t fall into the spectator seats.
In 1904, Black gym teacher Edwin Henderson decided to teach Black students basketball. At that time, Black athletes were not allowed to play sports with white players. This continued through the early 1900s. Henderson hoped basketball would help bring about racial equality and help Black students get into white colleges in the North. Basketball eventually caught on in Black communities.
In the early to mid-1900s, before Black players were allowed to join the National Basketball Association (NBA), dozens of all-Black basketball teams formed around the country. They called themselves the Black Fives. Often, the Black Fives would offer basketball and dance at their events to bring in crowds. People would come to watch games and dance to ragtime music.
When the NBA was formed in 1946, it didn’t allow Black players. In 1950, 21-year-old Earl Lloyd became the first Black player to play in an NBA game. As the United States slowly changed, Black athletes were finally recognized. Black players helped turn the sport into what it is today.