The Hebraic Roots of Basketball

While the rudiments of basketball’s creation story are familiar to most fans, the current post will touch on the ideology that animated Dr. James Naismith. The founding father majored in Hebrew and Philosophy at McGill University, where he also excelled at football. Upon graduating, Naismith matriculated at a Canadian theological school. As a proponent of “muscular Christianity,” he had long believed that a sound body, cultivated through athletics, is a prerequisite for a sound mind. In fact, Naismith soon reached the conclusion that sports was a better framework than the ministry for inculcating good habits in youth. Much to the dismay of close relatives and teachers, the hoops visionary decided to forego the frock and switch his academic-cum-vocational pursuits to Physical Education.

To this end, Naismith matriculated at the School for Christian Workers, a training college affiliated with the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. Consistent with his worldview, he was a member of the school’s highly successful football team. Against the backdrop of the increased violence on the gridiron during these years and owing, perhaps, to his diminutive size (5’10”), Naismith invented the football helmet a few months before conceiving of hoops. These contributions were only fitting for a resident of “the City of Firsts.”