The daddy of basketball, Dr. James Naismith created the game in 1892 and the 1st game was played in Beaver Falls Pennsylvania on Apr eight 1893 between the New Brighton YMCA and the Geneva University.
The game was very hot and by 1914 as much as 360 varsities boasted basketball groups. In 1939, the 1st NCAA Men's University Basketball Championship contest was held which was won by the School of Oregon. The formation of Pro basketball in the 1896 year came about from a disagreement between YMCA team members and officers and finished in the members forming a pro team that played for money.
The NBL (National Basketball League) was formed and produced the 1st basketball stars - Ed Wachter and Barney Sedran, in 1898. The 1st 2 professional basketball groups to be successful were the Buffalo Germans and the Celtics but in the 1930's tops included the Big Apple Renaissance and the Harlem Travellers. In this time, women’s basketball was also well-liked and produced great players such as Honey Didrikson and Alline Banks Sprouse. In 1940, the 1st varsity basketball game was shown on the T. V. . . This game was played between Fordham and Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden, and catapulted basketball into a state sensation. Since that time basketball has been one of the most studied sports and in truth the March Insanity, when about 350 Yankee varsities compete for the NCAA basketball crown is the most studied event in the US.
In Pro basketball in the 1940's and 50's the Minneapolis Lakers were a big favorite of many winning five NBA championship titles and manufacturing starts like Bob Cousy and Bob Pettit. But in the late 1950's up till 1969, the Celtics had the court winning eleven NBA titles (eight f them right in a row). In this age fave players included Bill Russell and Shrivel Chamberlin of the Philadelphia Soldiers. During 1963 to 1975 The School of California, L. A. was under the spotlamps winning ten state championships, including seven in a row. Some of the great players of this UCLA team include Jamaal Wilkes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich and Marques Johnson. In 1967 the Yank Basketball organization (ABA) was formed and plenty will remember one of the satart players Julius Erving as well as their red white and blue basketballs. The ABA only lasted till 1976 when it broke up and lots of the groups joined the NBA. In the 1960's, women’s basketball introduced the five player full court format and made dribbling completely legal but it was not till 1985 the Basketball Hall-Of-Fame commenced inducting girl coaches and players. Some of the first girls to get this respect include Carol Blazejowski, Ann Meyers, Cheryl Miller; Nancy Lieberman-Cline and Anne Donovan. In the latter 1970's start players like Larry Bird of Indiana State School and Michigan State Colleges Sorcery Johnson appeared and the late 1980s saw such major players as Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman. But maybe the most loved player of all is Michael Jordan who led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships in the 1990s.