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All Basketball, All The Time

On The Court

Off The Court

The first basketball card? Murad Cigarettes 1909 card for Williams College.
The first basketball card? Murad Cigarettes 1909 card for Williams College.

Origins of the Game

This 12th Street YMCA team from Washington, DC was declared Colored Basketball World's Champions in 1910.
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This 12th Street YMCA team from Washington, DC was declared Colored Basketball World's Champions in 1910.

It was a wild time, with barnstorming teams, leagues that came and went, and men who could play for three teams in three leagues at the same time. Read about the beginnings of pro ball in NBA Roots.

Smith College Class of 1895 team
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Smith College Class of 1895 team
  • Basketball spread across the country like wildfire in the 1890s. Lots of people were looking for a competitive indoor game in the winter. But it wasn't just the guys. As soon as boys started playing, girls did, too. Read about the AAU Women's Champions. Or check out some of the other articles about the women's game.
Nat Holman in his Original Celtics uniform, 1922.
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Nat Holman in his Original Celtics uniform, 1922.
  • "Why are they so good at basketball? They dominate the sport. They must have some innate physical advantage that the rest of us don't have." Sound familiar? But in the first half of the 20th Century "they" were Jews. Many of the top players were kids who grew up playing ball on the tough streets of New York and Philadelphia. Kids like Nat Holman (right), Barney Sedran, Bennie Borgmann, Max Friedman and Eddie Gottlieb, who all grew up to be Hall of Famers. To learn more about race and hoops, read Questions of Race.
  • In 1897 the Amateur Athletic Union organized a tournament to determine a national men's basketball champion. They've been holding such tournaments ever since. For most of the first half of the 20th Century the AAU was the most prestigious championship there was. For a listing of all the championship games, go to AAU Men's Champions.
The Nankai Five Tigers: China's first dominating team, ca. 1896.
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The Nankai Five Tigers: China's first dominating team, ca. 1896.

This Day In Basketball History

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  • 1951 - Right: The Washington Capitols, one of the stronger teams in the early years of the NBA, announce that they had been unable to find a buyer and that the club would fold after its January 9 game.
  • 1955 - Georgia Tech upsets Kentucky, 59-58, snapping Kentucky's 32-game winning streak and 130-game home-winning streak (stretching over 12 years).
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  • 1980 - The NCAA decides to sponsor championships for women in five sports, including basketball.

Recent Additions

  • Hall of Fame contributor Pete Newell has passed away at 93. His teams won NIT, NCAA and Olympic championships. Newell was also well known for running "Pete Newell's Big Man Camp," which almost every great center in the NBA has attended.
  • Remember Bill Sharman? A star baseball and basketball player at USC, an NBA All-Star eight times and coach of NBA and ABA championship teams, it's no wonder he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame twice.
Obama in High School
Obama in High School
  • Right: Before he was a President-Elect, before he was a Senator, he as a baller. Still is. Barack Obama, the lanky lefty from the Land of Lincoln, played and still plays. Will he put a court in the White House? Read about Barack Obama.
  • Don't forget that she may be back to her day job as governor of Alaska now, but Sarah Palin was the point guard on her state championship team not too long ago. Find out how she got the name "Sarah Barracuda" here.

Basketball 101

Hack-a-Shaq demonstrated.
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Hack-a-Shaq demonstrated.

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