AAHPERD Biography - Naismith

James A. Naismith (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939), known as "The Father of Basketball," was born in Almonte, Ontario. When he was nine, both of his parents died of typhoid fever and he was raised by his uncle, who later financed Naismith's way through college. He earned his theological degree from McGill University and graduated from Springfield College, then the YMCA Training School, in 1891. After graduation, he was hired as a faculty member, where he taught for five years. It is in his first year as a faculty member at Springfield College that he created the game of Basketball as an activity for an unruly class. In 1895, Naismith enrolled at the Gross Medical School in Denver and received his M.D. in 1898. In that same year, Naismith took the position of department head of physical education at the University of Kansas, where he remained until his death.

A cover page was created for the physical document explaining that these pages were photocopied from the AAHPERD Collection in the Archives Vertical File on James A. Naismith;

The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) produced this document, and R. G. Clapp collected the information. This is the copy of the original document contained in the AAHPERD Archives Vertical File on James Naismith. It is a biography of James A. Naismith, the inventor of basketball, and it covers his education, personal history, professional history, affiliations, contributions to physical education, and “other data worthy of note.” It mentions other games that Naismith invented, such as “War Ring,” “Vreilla,” and “HY-LO.” The first four pages were likely created after his death, and the last three pages appear to be from an older file created while he was alive. However, the information included in each is virtually identical.