American Minute from William J. Federer
Did you know basketball and volleyball were invented by YMCA instructors?
The Young Men's Christian Association, founded in 1844, has a membership of 4 million in 76 countries.
Founder George Williams, who died NOVEMBER 6, 1905, wrote: "My life-long experience as a business man, and as a Christian worker among young men, has taught me that the only power in this world that can effectually keep one from sin, in all the varied and often attractive forms...is that which comes from an intimate knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as a present Saviour."
George Williams concluded: "And I can also heartily testify that the safe Guide-Book by which one may be led to Christ is the Bible, the Word of God, which is inspired by the Holy Ghost."
On October 24, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson addressed the 70th anniversary of the Young Men's Christian Association: "Christ came into the world to save others, not to save himself; and no man is a true Christian who does not think constantly of how he can lift his brother."
Of the YMCA's anniversary, Woodrow Wilson said: "I do believe that at 70 it is just reaching its majority. A dream greater even than George Williams ever dreamed will be realized in the great accumulating momentum of Christian men throughout the world."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
*NOTE: According to Mamie Moore of YMCA of the USA, the World Alliance of YMCAs is a confederation of 124 national YMCA movements (in 124 different countries), and the YMCA movement in the United States has 21 million members.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Basketball Invented at YMCA
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5 comments:
Just a quick historical correction there Bob. Basketball was invented by a Canadian, James Naismith using Peach baskets in 1891. He *was* an instructor for the YMCA in Mass, and this is where he first began trying out the game with some teams, but, just to note, this was a Canadian invention. If ya wanna get technical about it ^_^.
Just had to note this, as this little factoid has been drilled into me since about age 5 by Canadian Heritage Minutes that air on TV all the time here.
You can read the full history of Nasmith and the basketball game here : http://inventors.about.com/od/inventorsalphabet/a/James_Naismith.htm
Quite interesting, even for someone not interested in the game.
I'm curious, do you tend to find history to be an interesting subject? I myself have studied a few historical events to an extent, including the Titanic disaster, as well as the lesser known Halifax Explosion (The largest man made blast before the atomic bomb was invented)
Just noticed I misread, you labeled this as a YMCA invention, not an American invention, which is of course factually accurate, though you still may not have known about Nasmith ^^
No quarrel here, RadioDJ134. This was filed under America, Christian Heritage, and history categories because (a) basketball is so beloved in the States, (b) so is the YMCA, (c) this contains a historical fact, and (d) the YMCA is a part of our Christian heritage, regardless of nationality.
Yes, I've been very interested in history since junior high school. I enjoy finding out how we came to be where we are, and learning from the successes and failures of the past.
Just saw your second comment, RadioDJ134. No, I didn't know about Nasmith. Thanks for the info!
No problem. As Ive said, I definately don't agree with you on many points. But I believe anyone can find common ground in at least some areas.
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