A copy of information on the "first" basketball team and the original school building

Item Information

Title:
A copy of information on the "first" basketball team and the original school building
Description:
This is a one-page copy of information on the famous basketball picture of the first nine men to play the game of basketball and the recreation of this picture by the 1961 Springfield College basketball team before the building was torn down. There are notes written by Frank A. Wolcott about the information. The 1961 photo and text may have appeared in advertisements about the new Basketball Hall of Fame that was erected on the campus of Springfield College in 1969. The building has been known by many different names over the years including the Winchester Square Building, the Mason Square building and the Armory Hill building. Construction on the building was completed in the spring of 1886 and it was dedicated on June 1 of that year. The building consisted of a reading room, gymnasium, parlor, a recitation room, an amusement room and fifty sleeping rooms. The Armory Hill YMCA also rented rooms in the building. In 1891 James Naismith, while a faculty member at the school, invented the game of basketball in the gymnasium of the building. In 1890 the School for Christian Workers separated into two schools which continued to operate out of the same building, the YMCA Training School and the School for Christian Workers. In 1896 the Training School, now Springfield College, finished the transition to its new location on Alden Street and in 1897 the School for Christian Workers became the Bible Normal College and moved to Hartford, Connecticut. The original building was torn down in 1965 to create a parking lot. In 1995, McDonald’s Corporation bought the land, excavating the original foundation and bricks before building a restaurant on the site. Today, there is a monument commemorating the site as the birthplace of basketball.
Creator:
Wolcott, Frank A.
Date:
[1961?–1980?]
Format:
Documents
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Subjects:
Basketball--History
Original School Building
Springfield College
Springfield College--Buildings
Springfield College--Basketball
Springfield College--Basketball--Men
Naismith, James, 1861-1939
Hickox, Edward J.
Wolcott, Frank A.
Springfield (Mass.)
Winchester Square
Mason Square
Basketball
Places:
Massachusetts > Hampden (county) > Springfield
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/34401
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Identifier:
rg111-01-05-008