December 1891

Left: Naismith’s original rules of basketball were sold at auction for $4.3 million in 2010. Jamie Squire / Getty Images. Right: James Naismith.
James Naismith, a physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts, creates the game as a means to keep his students in shape during the winter. He publishes the sport’s initial 13 rules, and it soon takes root in the Northeast.