Who Created the First Basketball?

James Naismith invented the game of basketball in December 1891, but not the basketball. That came later, but how much later is open to some question as several companies began making the leather sphere long before a man named George L. Pierce came on the scene with a 1929 patent.

James Naismith holds an early basketball.James Naismith was born in Canada in 1861 and quite possibly came up with the early format of basketball as a youngster while playing a school yard game called "duck on a rock." According to several biographies, he found a "soft, lobbing" throw was better than a straight-line one when tossing rocks. Some theorize that this was the birth of the basketball shot. The game itself wouldn't come until after he graduated from McGill University (which also lays claim to the birth of hockey) and was working for the YMCA in Springfield, Mass. The game he invented was called Basket Ball and first played in December 1891. It got its name from the peach baskets used and not the ball. The first game, and many subsequent ones,often used a soccer ball.

According to the NBA, Naismith turned to the A.G. Spalding Co. to make the official basketball in 1894. It seemed like a good choice. Spalding was a former professional baseball pitcher turned sporting goods impressario and was already the official maker of National League baseballs. However, according to at least one version of the Spalding official website, the company began making basketballs in 1891, which would put it ahead of the game's actual invention. It is likely, though, that Spalding didn't really start making the ball until 1894, which is also listed on the Spalding site. The company also notes that early versions of Naismith's rules state, Spalding as the official ball for the sport. The company still makes basketballs and is the official provider for the NBA. Other key basketball makers include Nike, Wilson and Rawlings.

There is some debate over Spalding. According to Basketball Hall of Fame spokesman Matt Zeysing, the first basketball didn't come along until 1894 when a bicycle tire making company called Overman Wheel started producing them. Zeysing said the Hall of Fame doesn't know much about the dimensions of the Overman ball, but it was leather, had an inflated bladder, laces and was stiched. Overman was located in Chicoppe Falls, Mass., which is about eight miles from Springfield and where Naismith started the game, but Zeysing said there is no clear record of why the company started manufacturing. Did they work with Naismith? Did they get hired by the YMCA? No one is sure. Zeysing said quite possibly Overman stepped up to fill a need in the market. It's likely Overman started making a ball just before Naismith turned to Spalding for the official one. A short note about Overman: The company took out the patent for the monkey wrench in 1891. However, it never decided to patent the basketball. Neither did Spalding.

So, who invented the basketball? Spalding or Overman? It's quite possible that both saw no need to patent the piece of equipment. But an inventor named G.L. Pierce did. On March 5, 1928, he filed a one-page document with five drawings of basketballs on it with the U.S. Patent Office. He signed his full name of George L. Pierce and had an attorney, whose name is illegible, sign it as well. On June 15, 1929, he was awarded Patent No. 1,718,305. Who was Pierce? Well, Spalding officials said he didn't work for them, and Zeysing said he had never heard of Pierce until contacted for this article. His patent request doesn't give any more information on him, and it is not clear if he ever filed anything with the U.S. Patent office. A man named George Pierce filed several patents during the late 1920s that had to do with automotives, but the signature on his patents don't match that of G. Pierce.

Despite Pierce taking out the patent in 1929, that did not stop the evolution of the basketball. While traditionally brown in color, the now-defunct American Basketball Association came out with a red, white and blue basketball in the late 1960s. That led to somewhat of a revolution in the 1970s as pro players marketed different color basketballs based on their team jerseys. In the late 1990s, composite materials replaced leather in the use of most basketballs. They theory is they last longer. However, rubber balls, which generally were inferior in quality, have been on the market since the 1980s.