1939 Naismith interview reminiscing about first basketball game ever played

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James Naismith invented basketball in 1891. A 1939 tape of Naismith talking about the game has been found — it may be the only recording of his voice. The tape is from the WOR-AM archives.

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Kansas managed to dig up an audio recording of a radio interview that Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, did back in January of 1939 — it’s awesome, by the way, give it a listen right here — and here is how he described the first ever game of basketball back in 1891: Well, I didn’t have enough [rules]. And that’s where I made my big mistake. The boys tackling, kicking and punching in the clinches. They ended up in a free-for-all in the middle of the gym floor. Before I could pull them apart, one boy was knocked out, several of them had black eyes, and one had a dislocated shoulder. It certainly was murder.

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