Posted By:
davidcyclebackMy neighbors just returned from St. Petersburg and like it it (I saw the pictures).
Amongst the three major US Sports, basketball was invented (by a Canadian in the US), both football and baseball slowly developed over time from other sports. It's impossible to pinpoint when the latter two sports first appeared. For example, even if you call 1870 football football, it doesn't resemble our current game.
Interesting tidbit about the invention and naming of basketball. The inventor, James Naismith, asked a Springfield College janitor to get some boxes for his newly conceived indoor ball game. The janitor couldn't find any boxes, and brought Naismith something else -- baskets.
And, in the earliest version of basketball, there were no holes in the bottom of the baskets. The ball was retrieved via ladder after a score.