1891: Basketball invented

Canadian James E. Naismith nails two peach baskets to opposite ends of a gymnasium balcony, draws up some simple rules, and creates the sport of basketball. In 1891, the staff of the International Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Training School in Massachusetts presented Naismith, a physical education instructor, with a challenge: to devise a winter game that would occupy incorrigible students. The game that he created, basketball, was a great success with his students, and in January 1892, the rules were sent to Christian schools throughout the United States. The YMCA’s international students also introduced the game in their native countries, and by the early 20th century basketball was a widely played sport.