James A. Naismith wrote this letter to George O. Draper, Springfield College’s alumni secretary, sometime between March and April 1935. He thanks the college for the outstanding honor of the Tarbell Medallion and writes that he hopes to attend commencement. Naismith describes how he spends most of his time giving addresses to high school students in Kansas and Nebraska about what the YMCA has done for humanity and athletics, clean sport, and clean living. Finally, he writes that he has mailed photographs to Draper.
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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 received his M.D. in 1898. In that same year, Naismith took the position of department head of physical education at the University of Kansas, where he remained until his death.
