There are some indisputable facts in the history of college basketball, such as the invention of the game by James Naismith in 1891 and the first basketball game played in a YMCA that same year. Or the fact that on February 9, 1895, the first intercollegiate game was played between the Minnesota State School of Agriculture and Hamline College.
These beginnings are well documented, in black and white. There are many more, of course, those solid and concrete firsts, which spread throughout the birth and development of basketball. Some statements, however, are in shades of gray.
Like Geneva’s claim to the title of cradle of college basketball.
There is a section dedicated to this subject on the Geneva sports website, and when you search for the keyword Geneva, it is the first result that appears. A distinction that seems to be acquired.
Far from it.
Geneva claims that in February 1892, the “first college basketball game was organized internally by students,” but Geneva did not play an official game until April 8, 1893, when it beat the New Brighton YMCA 3-0.
The dispute, however, is not over which college was the first to field a team or the first to play an intramural game – there may never be any way to determine that other than by James Naismith’s word – it is over which college was the first to field a team and play an official game.
And it turns out Vanderbilt has a strong case.
Geneva is used to other schools claiming to be the true home of college basketball, said Cheryl Johnson, Geneva’s director of marketing and public relations.
She considered the matter closed in 2010 when Ian Naismith, the grandson of basketball founder James Naismith, visited the school, saying he wanted to see the birthplace of college basketball for himself.
He provided Geneva with a quote from his father’s book, Basketball: its origin and developmentwhere James Naismith details how then-Geneva athletic director CO Beamis brought the game back to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
“Mr. C. O. Beamis, a Springfield boy, had gone to Geneva College as physical director,” wrote James Naismith. “Beamis had seen the game played in the training school gymnasium while he was on vacation. He realized that it might solve the need for a winter activity in his school. I told him of the success we had had and explained to him the fundamentals of the game. On his return to Beaver Falls, he took up the game at Geneva College; so I think he was the first to play basketball.”
But while this story proves that Geneva has the right to call itself the birthplace of college basketball, since it was likely the first university to field a team, it’s not so simple. When it comes to determining which university first played an official game, Vanderbilt’s evidence carries the most weight.
“Organizing a basketball team, a varsity team, and playing a game is different than a group of college students getting together and playing,” said Bill Traughber, who is in his 11th year of researching and writing sports stories for Vanderbilt’s official website.
“Geneva considers itself the birthplace of college basketball. I don’t understand why they can say that.“
— Bill Traughber, historian
Traughber first became interested in the topic when a North Carolina fan saw an article proclaiming that Vanderbilt was the first team to host and play a game. He asked Traughber if he knew anything about it, and that’s how he discovered Geneva.
It was in 2008 that Traughber looked into the matter, and by the time he completed his research, he was convinced that Vanderbilt had the more legitimate case.
His research led him to a Nashville newspaper article written on February 7, 1893, which claimed that Vanderbilt would play a YMCA team that night. But that wasn’t enough. He needed proof that the game had actually happened, and he found it.
Another article, dated February 8, stated that the game had been played and that Vanderbilt had won 9-6. There was also a list of players and a score of the game listed in the Vanderbilt yearbook, The cometThe date of this competition preceded the first official match in Geneva by more than two months.
“Geneva considers itself the birthplace of college basketball,” Traughber said. “I don’t understand why they would say that. I just reported what I found. Vanderbilt played before Geneva. They both played at YMCA schools, which was interesting.”
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame cannot confirm or deny either claim. Historian Matt Zeysing wrote in an email that the Hall has “no official position” and has “not studied the historical record sufficiently to make a claim.”
The only “first team” recognized by the Hall of Fame is the YMCA team that played in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891.
As for Ian Naismith’s statement that Geneva does indeed deserve the title, Zeysing wrote that while Naismith was “a wonderful man,” his word would not be the final word on college basketball history.
“He was a promoter and he was spreading the word,” Zeysing wrote. “But I don’t recall him being a historian, other than to find out what he was told. Historical records change, so that wouldn’t be accusing Ian or any of the Naismiths of lying. But there is evidence to support Vandy’s claims.”
