Naismith studied and taught physical education at McGill University in Montreal until 1890, before moving to Springfield, Massachusetts, United States later that year, where in 1891 he designed the game of basketball while he was teaching at the International YMCA Training School.

[9] Orphaned early in his life, Naismith lived with his aunt and uncle for many years and attended grade school at Bennies Corners near Almonte.

Although described as a slight figure, standing 5 feet 10+1⁄2 inches (1.791 m) and listed at 178 pounds (81 kg)[10] he was a talented and versatile athlete, representing McGill in football, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, and gymnastics.

[12][13] From 1888 to 1890, Naismith taught physical education and became the first McGill director of athletics, but then left Montreal to study at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Whilst teaching there, Naismith realized he needed to invent an indoor game for the winter due to the weather conditions.

[17] After completing the YMCA physical director training program that had brought him to Springfield, Naismith was hired as a full-time faculty member in 1891.

[18] At the Springfield YMCA, Naismith struggled with a rowdy class that was confined to indoor games throughout the harsh New England winter, and thus was perpetually short-tempered.

Under orders from Luther Gulick, head of physical education there, Naismith was given 14 days to create an indoor game that would provide an "athletic distraction"; Gulick demanded that it would not take up much room, could help its track athletes to keep in shape[2] and explicitly emphasized to "make it fair for all players and not too rough".

Secondly, he saw that most physical contact occurred while running with the ball, dribbling, or hitting it, so he decided that passing was the only legal option.

This placement forced the players to score goals by throwing a soft, lobbing shot like that which had proven effective in his old favorite game, duck on a rock.

In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops, the goals were a pair of peach baskets: "When Mr. Stubbins brot [sic] up the peach baskets to the gym I secured them on the inside of the railing of the gallery.

I then put the 13 rules on the bulletin board just behind the instructor's platform, secured a soccer ball, and awaited the arrival of the class ...

[27] The Springfield Republican reported on the same: "Over 200 spectators crammed their necks over the gallery railing of the Christian Workers gymnasium while they watched the game of 'basket ball' between the teachers and the students.

[7] From Springfield, Naismith went to Denver, where he acquired a medical degree, and in 1898, he joined the University of Kansas faculty at Lawrence.

[35] Although the sport continued to grow, Naismith long regarded the game as a curiosity and preferred gymnastics and wrestling as better forms of physical activity.

[37] Instead, he was more interested in his physical-education career; he received an honorary PE master's degree in 1910,[9] patrolled the Mexican border for four months in 1916, traveled to France, and published two books (A Modern College in 1911 and Essence of a Healthy Life in 1918).

During the 1930s, he would not or could not get African-Americans onto Kansas' varsity Jayhawks, but he did help engineer the admission of black students to the university's swimming pool.

Until then, they had been given automatic passing grades on a required swimming test without entering the pool, so it could remain all-white.

As a result, he started the effort to bring a Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter to his University of Kansas (KU).

[9] When Naismith returned, he commented that seeing the game played by many nations was the greatest compensation he could have received for his invention.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, is named in his honor, and he was an inaugural inductee in 1959.

[45] Naismith's home town of Almonte, Ontario, hosts an annual 3-on-3 tournament for all ages and skill levels in his honor.

Every year, this event attracts hundreds of participants and involves over 20 half-court games along the main street of the town.

[citation needed] Today basketball is played by more than 300 million people worldwide, making it one of the most popular team sports.

ESPN and the Associated Press both conducted polls to name the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century.

Both polls featured fellow basketball players Wilt Chamberlain (of KU, like Naismith) and Bill Russell in the top 20.

[49] Swade's project and eventual success are chronicled in a 2012 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "There's No Place Like Home" and in a corresponding book, The Holy Grail of Hoops: One Fan's Quest to Buy the Original Rules of Basketball.

[50] The University of Kansas constructed an $18 million building named the Debruce Center, which houses the rules and opened in March 2016.

[10] On November 19 of that year, Naismith suffered a major brain hemorrhage and died nine days later in his home in Lawrence.

[58] Naismith died eight months after the birth of the NCAA Basketball Championship, which today has evolved to one of the biggest sports events in North America.