Basketball

Invented in 1891 by a Canadian PE teacher, basketball has become a popular sport - and these are the photos showing many of us enjoying "hoops".

Although very popular now, the game of basketball is only a little over 120 years old. It was invented by a Canadian who became a PE teacher in Massachusetts - he needed a way to keep students busy at recess on rainy days and to use up their excess energy. Little did he think that he was creating a multi-billion dollar entertainment industry and a game that everyone would play at least some time in their school days!

From peach baskets for hoops and wire for backboards to huge stadiums and flashy players, basketball has come a long way and has an interesting history. For instance:

• Basketball only became an official Olympic sport in 1936 at the Summer Games in Berlin, Germany.
• The record for the most points scored in an NBA career is held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - he scored 38,387 points in his career.
• The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - named for the game's inventor - is in Springfield, Mass.
• Before basketballs became orange, they were brown - until 1929, the game was played using a soccer ball.
• Cal Hubbard is the only person who is a member of both the basketball and football Hall of Fame.
• In his NBA contract, Michael Jordan had a "love of game" clause. It allowed him to to play basketball "against anyone, anytime and anywhere."
• In the movie Aliens:Resurrection, Sigourney Weaver actually made the "impossible" basketball shot herself.
• Some great movies about basketball: White Men Can't Jump (1992), He Got Game (1998), Hoosiers (1986) Celtic Pride (1996), Coach Carter (2005), Above the Rim (1994), and Hoop Dreams (1994) .

Enjoy these photos of basketball from its birth through the 20th century.