2017 Kevin Sylvester text and illustrations Edited by Linda Pruessen Designed by Sheryl Shapiro The charts and graphs in this book are meant for illustrative purposes only and do not necessarily reflect exact ratios or measurements Annick Press Ltd All rights reserved No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic electronic or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council and the participation of the Government of Canada la participation du gouvernement du Canada for our publishing activities Cataloging in Publication Sylvester Kevin author Basketballogy supercool facts you never knew Kevin Sylvester Includes index Issued also in electronic formats ISBN 978-1-55451-932-3 hardcover ISBN 978-1-55451-931-6 softcover ISBN 978-1-55451-934-7 PDF ISBN 978-1-55451-933-0 EPUB 1 Basketball Miscellanea Juvenile literature I Title GV885 1 S95 2017 j796 323 C2017-901401-3 C2017-901402-1 Published in the U S A by Annick Press U S Ltd Distributed in Canada by University of Toronto Press Distributed in the U S A by Publishers Group West Printed in China www annickpress com www kevinsylvesterbooks com Also available in e-book format Please visit www annickpress com ebooks html for more details To Noah Sara Zev Judah and Ellie My Basketball Buds K S
Contents Introduction Peach Baskets and Blizzards Follow the Bouncing Ball Wood You Like to Play a Game Don’t Quibble with the Dribble Tick-Tock Timing Is Everything 1 2 3 The Free Throw What Would You Do The Arc and the Angle Slam Dunk Feet Firsts Incredible Feet The Color Barrier Integration The Women’s Game Is Born Women Go Pro Title IX Globe-Trotting Who’s from Where The Street Game A Drop of Water in the Ocean 5 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48
Growing Up Big Bucks Hair-Raising Superstars For the Record Books Players For the Record Books Teams Play-off Pandemonium Offense vs Defense The Numbers The College Game Wheelchair Wonders The Science of Sport Underhanded Shots A Night Out Money In Money Out Who’s Watching A Different Kind of Cap Different at the Top The Original 13 Rules Trivia Time The Answers References and Further Reading Index About Kevin Sylvester 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92
Introduction You may have heard baseball and football referred to as America’s pastimes but that title really belongs to basketball Unlike a lot of other sports which grew out of field games such as rugby or cricket basketball is a wholly North American invention created without any previous rules to build on In December 1891 teacher James Naismith looked out the window of his school in Springfield Massachusetts and saw snow snow and more snow Outdoor sports the normal recreation for his students were out But Naismith a Canadian who knew how to deal with being cooped up inside during many a blizzard had a sudden inspiration He nailed some peach baskets to the walls of the gym called the stir-crazy young men in and tossed them an old soccer ball The goal was simple he said throw the ball in the other team’s basket There were only 13 rules and he made them up Check out pages 82 and 83 for the list The boys loved it And they spread the word quickly The game exploded Women’s schools picked up the new sport just a few months later Then the game went global Naismith published the rules in the newsletter for the YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association which had communities across the world Within a year players were tossing balls into baskets in Canada and France Soon after that the game spread to Japan China India and beyond The genius of basketball is its simplicity But science math and creative thinking have taken the basic game and transformed the way players think about what they do Players have grown in size So have salaries and attendance The rules have been adapted over time to keep the game moving and the fans entertained And a split second can mean the difference between getting a swish basket and getting your shot whacked back into your face Simple No way Cool You bet Read on and see just how amazing North America’s true pastime really is
