【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 rs on a side, and the larger gyms allowed seven to nine. The team size became generally established as five in 1895, and, in 1897, this was made formal in the rules. The YMCA lost interest in supporting the game because 1020 basketball players monopolized a gymnasium previously used by many more in a variety of activities. YMCA membership dropped, and basketball enthusiasts played in local halls. This led to the building of basketball gymnasiums at schools and colleges and also to the formation of professional leagues. Although basketball was born in the United States, five of Naismith39。s original players were Canadians, and the game spread to Canada immediately. It was played in France by 1893。 England in 1894。 Australia, China, and India between 1895 and 1900。 and Japan in 1900. From 1891 through 1893, a soccer ball was used to play basketball. The first basketball was manufactured in 1894. It was 32 in (81 cm) in circumference, or about 4 in (10 cm) larger than a soccer ball. The dedicated basketball was made of laced leather and weighed less than 20 oz (567 g). The first molded ball that eliminated the need for laces was introduced in 1948。 its construction and size of 30 in (76 cm) were ruled official in 1949. The rulesetters came from several groups early in the 1900s. Colleges and universities established their rules mittees in 1905, the YMCA and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) created a set of rules jointly, state militia groups abided by a shared set of rules, and there were two professional sets of rules. A Joint Rules Committee for colleges, the AAU, and the YMCA was created in 1915, and, under the name the National Basketball Committee (NBC) made rules for amateur play until 1979. In that year, the National Federation of State High School Associations began governing the sport at the high school level, and the NCAA Rules Committee assumed rulemaking responsibilities for junior colleges, colleges, and the Armed Forces, with a similar mittee holding jurisdiction over women39。s basketball. Until World War II, basketball became increasingly popular in the United States especially at the high school and college levels. After World War II, its popularity grew around the world. In the 1980s, interest in the game truly exploded because of television exposure. Broadcast of the NCAA Championship Games began in 1963, and, by the 1980s, cable television was carrying regular season college games and even high school championships in some states. Players like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Lew Alcindor (Kareem AbdulJabbar) became nationally famous at the college level and carried their fans along in their professional basketball careers. The women39。s game changed radically in 1971 when separate rules for women were modified to more closely resemble the men39。s game. Television interest followed the women as well with broadcast of NCAA championship tourneys beginning in the early 1980s and the formation of the WNBA in 1997. Internationally, Italy has probably bee the leading basketball nation outside of the United States, with national, corporate, and professional teams. The Olympics boosts basketball internationally and has also spurred the women39。s game by recognizing it as an Olympic event in 1976. Again, television coverage of the Olympics has been exceptionally important in drawing attention to international teams. The first professional men39。s basketball league in the United States was the National Basketball League (NBL), which debuted in 1898. Players were paid on a pergame basis, and this league and others were hurt by the poor quality of games and the everchanging players on a team. After the Great Depression, a new NBL was anized in 1937, and the Basketball Association of America was anized in 1946. The two leagues came to agree that players had to be assigned to teams on a contract basis and that high standards had to govern the game。 under these premises, the two joined to form the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949. A rival American Basketball Association (ABA) was inaugurated in 1967 and challenged the NBA for college talent and market share for almost ten years. In 1976, this league disbanded, but four of its teams remained as NBA teams. Unification came just in time for major television support. Several women39。s professional leagues were attempted and failed, including the Women39。s Professional Basketball League (WBL) and the Women39。s World Basketball Association, before the WNBA debuted in 1997 with the support of the NBA. James Naismith, originally from Almonte, Ontario, invented basketball at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. The game was first played w