The First Team
Encyclopedia
The First Team were the first players known to have played the sport of basketball
, having been taught the game in 1891
by James Naismith
, who is recognized as the inventor of the sport. The team comprises 18 players who were studying in Springfield
, Massachusetts
, to become executive secretaries of the YMCA
and who, as part of their coursework, studied physical education
with Naismith, who is said to have invented the game to teach teamwork skills to his charges. The team were inducted as a group into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of that organization's inaugural 1959 induction class for their efforts in popularizing the sport and as the game's first practitioners.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, having been taught the game in 1891
1891 in sports
-American football:College championship* College football national championship – Yale BulldogsEvents* Kansas defeats Missouri in the first Border War game 22-10 beginning one of the oldest and most fierce college football rivalries....
by James Naismith
James Naismith
The first game of "Basket Ball" was played in December 1891. In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops,...
, who is recognized as the inventor of the sport. The team comprises 18 players who were studying in Springfield
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, to become executive secretaries of the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
and who, as part of their coursework, studied physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
with Naismith, who is said to have invented the game to teach teamwork skills to his charges. The team were inducted as a group into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of that organization's inaugural 1959 induction class for their efforts in popularizing the sport and as the game's first practitioners.
Team members
The following are recognized by the Basketball Hall of Fame as members of "The First Team":- Lyman Archibald
- Franklin Barnes
- Wilbert Carey
- William Chase
- William Davis
- George Day
- Benjamin French
- Henry Gelan
- Ernest Hildner
- Genzabaro Ishikawa
- Raymond Kaighn
- Donald Freas
- Eugene Libby
- Finlay MacDonald
- Frank Mahan
- Thomas Patton
- Edwin Ruggles
- John Thompson
- George Weller