A Canadian by birth, Naismith, a physician and minister with additional degrees in education and psychology, also invented the football helmet and taught sex education. Naismith never made any money from the game he invented. In fact, he refused fees when he spoke about basketball in public, and he once turned down a substantial sum to endorse cigarettes. Amos Alonzo Stagg, a YMCA facility member and a player in the first basketball games, recommended Naismith to start a basketball program at the University of Kansas. He took the job, which he held from 1898 until his death in 1939, though he coached basketball for only nine years. The inventor of the game is the only coach in University of Kansas history with a losing record: 53 wins and 55 losses. An amazing man and a wonderful look at his YMCA invention: basketball

This book was inturiging, and totally worth 5 stars. It made me remember playing on the court with my friends.It made me remember the big ball, dribbiling on the ground, and to think that James Naismith invented it all!

James Naismith single-handedly invented the game of basketball in the winter of 1891, when his Y.M.C.A. boss challenged him to come up with a better means of keeping restless athletes occupied when cold weather forced them indoors and away from football and baseball. Prior to his brainstorm, many athletes had been bored and uninspired doing gymnastics and calisthenics while longing for the spring thaw which would once again allow them to engage in competitive sports. Naismith's life was an interesting one; he was born to Scottish parents in the Canadian wilderness near Ottawa, where he was suddenly orphaned as a youngster after both parents succumbed to typhoid. An unmarried uncle took him in, but rather than another warm and nurturing home, Naismith was plunged into a regimen of self-reliance, survival in the wilderness, and a stern work ethic. A physically strong boy, and a natural at sports, he was nevertheless a gentle spirit with an early interest in becoming a Presbyterian Minister. He eventually earned degrees in Physical Education, Divinity, and Medicine. After attending University in Canada, Naismith wound up working for the "Y" in Springfield Massachusetts, which is where the first basketball game was played. With the help of a couple of peach baskets the janitor pulled out of the broom closet for him, and the 13 original rules he had jotted down in his office, "Doc" as he was known, supervised the game's debut which was not so very different from the internationally-known game of today, and was an instant hit with all who saw it and/or played it. A few years later, Doc Naismith accepted an offer to join Kansas University as supervisor of their sports program, occasional minister, and part-time medical doctor, and this is where he raised his family and lived for the rest of his long life. Never interested in cashing in on his invention, Naismith watched basketball grow and change, usually stubbornly resisting new rules or the commercialization of the sport, but always proud that the game he had created was helping people to keep physically fit while having some good clean fun. Always a popular, well-liked and even beloved man wherever his life and travels took him, he did eventually receive many honors for his invention and his other good works, and in his retired years was a sought-after speaker at colleges and organizations throughout the country. Bernice Larson Webb has written an excellent biography here, combining the evolution of basketball with the life and adventures of its creator. Incidentally, the Basketball Hall of Fame (named for James Naismith) may be helpful in obtaining a copy of this hard-to-find book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!