Letter from Dr. James Naismith to Maude Naismith, Aug. 13, 1916
Description:
A two-page letter from Dr. James Naismith to Maude Naismith, Aug. 13, 1916. The letter is written during his time with the 1st reg. Infantry of the Kansas Militia when they went down to the Mexican Border during Pancho Villa's incursions. The bulk of the letter talks about a baseball game that was played on Sunday and how he doesn't see this as wrong as "...it is better than lounging around (and) there is no money spent to make it anything but recreation."
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James A. Naismith (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939), known as "The Father of Basketball," was born in Almonte, Ontario. When he was nine, both of his parents died of typhoid fever and he was raised by his uncle, who later financed Naismith's way through college. He earned his theological degree from McGill University and graduated from Springfield College, then the YMCA Training School, in 1891. After graduation, he was hired as a faculty member, where he taught for five years. It is in his first year as a faculty member at Springfield College that he created the game of Basketball as an activity for an unruly class. In 1895, Naismith enrolled at the Gross Medical School in Denver and recei
There is a letter of authenticity attached to the letter from Albersheim's;
