It’s always interesting to learn how sports came to exist and the story of basketball is a particularly unique one.

On this day in 1891, the game was born when Dr. James Naismith published 13 rules in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Naismith positioned two peach baskets at each end of the gym, nailed 10 feet above the floor, while a football was used to score. He used 18 young men, with teams consisting of nine players each, to test the game.

Whenever a basket was scored, the janitor had to be called to climb a ladder and retrieve the ball. The game, of course, evolved over time to be the worldwide sport we all know and love now.

Other memorable events on this day

1975: Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3-2 in the 64th Davis Cup.

1997: Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions rushes over 2,000 yards.

2009: Barcelona’s Argentina forward Lionel Messi is named FIFA World Player of the Year.

2015: Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini are both banned for eight years from all football activity by FIFA’s ethics committee.

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