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History Daily

A Gym Teacher Invents Basketball

History Daily

Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2023

⏱️ 18 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

December 21, 1891: James Naismith invents a new sport to control a boisterous college gym class.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad free.

0:03.7

Listen with Wonder Plus in the Wonder App.

0:06.0

Or you can get all of History Daily, plus other fantastic history podcasts at

0:10.5

Into History.

0:11.6

com. It's August 14, 1936.

0:15.0

It's August 14, 1936

0:21.0

in Berlin, Germany.

0:26.0

27-year-old Bill Wheatley waves his arm and calls for his teammate to pass.

0:31.0

Bill is captaining the United States team in the final of the first ever Olympic basketball tournament.

0:36.0

His team has a narrow lead, but it's a tough game.

0:40.0

Bill is used to playing indoors in a heated gymnasium, but today he's outside and heavy rain has turned

0:45.5

the clay of the converted tennis court into a quagmire.

0:49.4

Bill's teammate finally notices he's open and passes the ball but before Bill gets to it a

0:54.2

Canadian opponent reaches out and intercepts the pass. The Canadian player

0:58.1

dribbles down the court but his foot slips in a muddy puddle and he falls.

1:03.0

Bill recovers the ball and turns.

1:05.4

There's nobody between him and the Canadian basket.

1:08.6

Bill dribbles up the court, slamming the heavy ball on the wet clay to get it to bounce back.

1:13.9

And when he reaches the basket, Bill jumps and shoots the ball into the hoop.

1:18.6

A smattering of applause breaks out as Bill gets ready for the next possession.

1:23.1

He glances out at the crowd, but all he can see are rows of umbrellas,

1:27.1

except on the front row, where an elderly gentleman stands and

...

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