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Basketball In December 1891, Luther Gulick, chairman of physical education at the School for Christian Workers (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, told the physical education teacher James Naismith to invent a new game to keep athletes busy during the winter season. With a normal soccer ball, Naismith took 18 young men, picked captains of two nine-player teams, and introduced them to the game of Basket Ball. Naismith, who only had thirteen original rules, sent the school …

…In 1894 players were given a free throw when fouled. In 1908 players who committed five fouls were thrown out of the game. Based on the harshness of the foul, the rules were altered so that players were awarded either two shots or one shot plus a bonus shot, which was attempted only if the first shot was made. The rules also determined that an offensive player could commit a foul by playing too aggressively. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**