Photo: John D. Hanlon / Sports Illustrated
In 1891, physical education teacher James Naismith of Springfield, Massachusetts’ School for Christian Workers, invented a new game to give boys something to play indoors during the cold of winter. He attached a wooden peach basket at either end of the gymnasium and instructed two teams of nine players to throw a soccer ball into the baskets. Mr. Naismith had invented the game of basketball.
The game and the ball itself evolved over the years. The basketball eventually became larger in size than a soccer ball and slightly lighter. However, one thing remained the same for decades – the leather ball was always brown. That all changed in the 1950s. Butler University basketball head coach, Tony Hinkle, noticed that the ball could be difficult for both players and fans to see during a game. He asked the Spalding Company, the official basketball supplier to the NCAA, to produce a new ball – an orange ball. In 1958, the newly designed basketball made its debut at the NCAA finals in Louisville, Kentucky. It has remained the official colour in USA college and professional basketball ever since.
There is one exception. During the nine-year (1967-1976) run of the ABA (American Basketball Association), the teams played with a red, white and blue basketball. It became a trademark for the league that rivalled the more established NBA (National Basketball Association). Eventually, the NBA swallowed up the ABA, and once again, the orange ball reigned supreme.
