In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian-born physical education professor and instructor at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School, was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track.

In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, and balls had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored; this proved inefficient, however, so the bottom of the basket was removed, allowing the balls to be poked out with a long dowel each time. The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through, paving the way for the game we know today. The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators on the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference, it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots.

The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20, 1892 with nine players. The game ended at 1-0; the shot was made from 25 feet (7.6 m), on a court just half the size of a present-day Streetball or National Basketball Association (NBA) court. By 1897–1898 teams of five became the standard. (Summary from Wikipedia)

We present this fine collection of fifteen {15} vintage Spalding's Official Basketball Guides.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1903) - 116 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1905) - 142 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1906) - 148 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1907) - 140 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1908) - 116 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1909) - 142 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1910) - 148 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1911) - 140 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1912) - 116 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1913) - 142 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1916) - 148 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1917) - 140 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1918) - 116 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1919) - 142 pages.

:: Spalding's Official Basketball Guide (1920) - 148 pages.

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