Interesting Places I've Photographed
A Memorial to the First Game of Basketball
Springfield, MA
Topic: Sculptures of Springfield
N 42° 06.644 W 072° 33.954
Quick Description:
A sculpture of an adult bounce passing a ball to a young boy marks the site of the first game of
basketball, which was played in Springfield, MA on December 21, 1981.
Long Description:
Basketball was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, an instructor at the YMCA training school in Springfield, which is now Springfield College. The first game of basketball was played in what is now Mason Square in a small gymnasium in a building owned and operated by the School For Christian Workers, now Springfield College. The school was located at Mason Square in Springfield. In 1894, the college move to its present location about one mile south. The original building in which the game was played has long since been demolished.
In August 2010, a memorial to the first game of basketball was erected on the exact site of the old YMCA training school on State and Sherman Streets. Set in a circular base representing a basketball, a statue of an adult bounce passing a basketball to a young boy. On the outside of the circle are a series of etched glass panels describing the development of the game of basketball from 1891 to the present. The sculpture was designed by Michael Tully and the sculpture was created by Brian P. Hanlon.
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