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| DR. JAMES NAISMITH 1861-1939 This is the boyhood home of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. Born in a house which formerly stood on this lot, he enttered McGill University in 1883 where he was active in athletics. In 1890 Naismith graduated in theology from Presbyterian College, Montreal, and subsequently enrolled at the International Y.M.C.A. Training School (now Springfield College) in Massachusetts. There was a need for a competitive team sport that could be played indoors during the winter months, and, there, in December 1891, Naismith devised a game, played under thirteen basic rules, with a ball and two round baskets. He directed physical education at the University of Kansas for thirty-six years and died at Lawrence, Kansas. Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario. |
