Basketball was invented by James Naismith, a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, and sports coach. He created the game in December 1891 while he was a physical education instructor at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. The game was designed as an indoor sport to keep athletes active during the cold months and consisted of peach baskets and a soccer-style ball. Naismith also wrote the original 13 rules for the new sport, which has since become a global phenomenon.
