WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6: BASKETBALL'S INVENTOR
Profile America - Sunday, November 6th. Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the man who invented basketball - James Naismith. He was a physical education instructor at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891. To keep his students active during bad weather, he nailed up peach baskets at opposite ends of the gym and gave players soccer balls to toss into them. He taught for 20 years at the University of Kansas, saw basketball become an Olympic sport, and was the first person elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. Now, the sport is played in more than 1,000 colleges across the country, drawing crowds of over 44 million to men's and women's games each year. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 548
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1245
Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
