Description:

The Rules of Basket Ball for 1895 - copyright 1894 as printed in Physical Educaton Magazine, Volume 3 No. 9, pages 138-141. This is an original example of the four pages related to basketball that are contained in this 16 page November, 1894 issue of this magazine. What I don't see in my four pages is what I found on page 148 of a digital copy of this issue, which is a description of why these rules were established. The following is a Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. ** We publish Basket Ball Rules for 1894-'95 in this number. These rules have been adopted by the International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations, and are recommended for general use throughout the Associations. This gives an official standing to the rules which they have not had in the past, and afford better opportunity for the settling of disputes, interpretation of the rules, and the like. The chief differences between this year's rules and, last year's are as follows: The size of the goal. This is eighteen inches in diameter instead of fifteen inches, in shape it must be a tapering cylinder, and must be able to hold the ball. The penalty fur fouls, instead of scoring one for every foul which the opposition makes, a free throw for goal is given. This does away with the objection which has sometimes been made that one side could win through the poor, playing of the other side. The free throw from goal must be made from a 20 ft. line. The ball shall not be less than thirty or more than thirty-two inches in Circumference. Physical directors cannot play match games. There shall be a secretary who shall keep account of all goals, fouls, who makes the fouls, names of teams, etc. None but the captains shall address the officers. Violation of this rule constitutes a foul. ** There is also information on how Physical Education Magazine came to be. The following is also a Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. **Physical Education was first published as The Triangle by the students in the Physical Department of the Y.M.C.A. Training School in February 1891. By June, 1891, the monthly journal was published by the Triangle Publishing Company, located at ‘Corner State and Sherman Streets’, for 10 months each year, subscription price at $1.00 per year or 15 cents per copy, and a circulation of 1,000 copies per month. Dr. Luther Gulick served as President, James Naismith, editor, and F. N. Seerley, Business Manager. The game of Basketball was introduced in the Triangle in the January 15, 1892 edition (Vol. 1, No. 10, p. 144-147) in a four-page article written by James Naismith and included the original 13 rules. Contributing authors included notables in the field such as H. Kallenberg, R. Tait McKenzie, and Amos Alonzo Stagg, E. Hitchcock, Amy Morriss Homans, Dudley Sargent, and William Anderson. The magazine had editorials, book reviews, ‘unobjectionable’ advertisements, and articles about baseball, football, gymnastics, volleyball, exercise, ethics of sport, changes in the official basketball rules, physical training for those with disabilities, physical education for women, and influential figures. By March 1892, the name of the journal was changed from Triangle to Physical Education. The last issue was published in July 1896.**