Personal back ground:
Naismith was the eldest child of Margaret and John Naismith, two Scottish immigrants. His mother, Margaret Young, was born in 1833 and immigrated as the fourth of 11 children to Lanark County, Canada in 1852. His father, John Naismith, was born in 1836, left Europe when he was 18 and also settled down in Lanark County.After marrying, John Naismith worked as a saw hand, but unfortunately, the couple soon contracted typhoid fever and died when Naismith was just 9 years old. He was then raised by a strict, religious grandmother and his uncle Peter.
In June 20, 1894, Naismith married Maude E. Sherman from Springfield. The couple had five children: Margaret Mason (1895), Helen Carolyn (1897), John Edwin (1900), Maude Ann (1904) and James Sherman (1913). He was a member of the Pi Gamma Mu and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternities, and regarding his spiritual beliefs, Naismith is remembered as a Freemason. Maude Naismith died in 1937, and on June 11, 1939, he married his second wife Florence Kincaid. Naismith suffered a major brain hemorrhage on November 19 the same year and died nine days later in his home located in Lawrence, Kansas. Naismith was 78 years old.
At Springfield YMCA, Naismith struggled with a rowdy class which was confined to indoor games throughout the harsh New England winter and thus was perpetually short-tempered. Under orders from Dr. Luther Gulick, head of Springfield YMCA Physical Education, Naismith was given 14 days to create an indoor game that would provide an "athletic distraction"
Firstly, he analyzed the most popular games of those times (rugby, lacrosse, soccer, football,hockey, and baseball); Naismith noticed the hazards of a small fast ball and concluded that the big soft soccer ball was safest. Secondly, he saw that most physical contact occurred while running with the ball, dribbling or hitting it, so he decided that passing was the only legal option. Finally, Naismith further reduced body contact by making the goal unguardable, namely placing it high above the player's heads.The original rules did not include what is known today as the dribble. Since the ball could only be moved up the court via a pass early players tossed the ball over their heads as they ran up court. Also, following each "goal" a jump ball was taken in the middle of the court. Both practices are obsolete in the rules of modern basketball.
After the sport became more popular through the nations many YMCA’s Naismith got a job as a Instructor in Physical Education at McGill University became the first basketball coach of the University of Kansas basketball team. He compiled a record of 55-60, and ironically became the only Kansas coach to have a losing record.
