The indoor sport invented in response to New England winters

The first basketball court, at what became Springfield College

“The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys would not simply play ‘Drop the Handkerchief.’’’

James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, on his time at Springfield College

In December 1891, Naismith, a Canadian-American physical-education professor at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Mass., sought to create a vigorous indoor game to help keep his students occupied and fit during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and put up a peach basket.

The Basketball Hall of Fame, in Springfield