A University of Kansas researcher has uncovered a rare audio recording of Dr. James Naismith, talking about basketball - the very game he invented. The audio comes from a 1939 radio interview and is believed to be the only known recording of Naismith. KU Associate Professor Michael Zogry found references to the early radio interview while researching a book. The interview comes from a broadcast of the New York radio program "We the People." Naismith had traveled to New York to watch a basketball game. In this excerpt, he talks about setting up the first basketball game in Massachusetts in 1891.
That's the voice of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of basketball, in the only known recording of his voice. Naismith moved to Lawrence in 1898 and became KU's first basketball coach. Naismith, the only KU basketball coach with a losing record, is buried in Lawrence.
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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A University of Kansas researcher has uncovered an audio recording of James Naismith talking about setting up the first game of basketball in 1891 in Massachusetts. The school says it is believed to be the only known recording of basketball's founder. Associate professor Michael Zogry found references to a 1939 interview with Naismith on a New York radio program "We the People" while researching a book and obtained the roughly three-minute recording in November. He says Naismith's description of roughhousing among 18 players in the first game sheds new light on the creative process that led him to draft the 13 original rules. Naismith moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1898 and became the first basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Naismith lived in Lawrence for decades and is buried in the university town.
Click here to listen to the rare interview with James Naismith.
