EQUIPMENT

Basketball's inventor, James Naismith, used a size five soccer ball for the early games. In those days soccer balls were composed of an outer case made from leather panels stitched together and an inner inflated rubber bladder. Access to the bladder was achieved through an aperture which was closed with a lace. Naismith soon realised that a larger ball than the standard soccer ball would be required. He approached the Spalding Company in the late 1890s and they agreed to make a larger ball which approximated to a size seven soccer ball. Due to the rapid development of the new sport several other manufacturers began producing similar sized balls in the early 1900s.

Because of stretching of the leather panels and in particular, the lacing on the cover, early basketballs were not perfectly symetrical. This made dribbling the ball difficult and often affected the trajectory of a pass or shot. It was not until 1942 that the laminated basketball with a "needle" valve was invented in the United States. It was now possible to mass produce balls which were perfectly symetrical and hardly ever lost their shape. Leather was still the favoured outer surface but rubber and other synthetic materials were more durable, particularly on outdoor surfaces. The old leather panel balls were still used in Scotland until the mid 1950's. About this time laminated balls would start to penetrate the UK market and were highly prized by Scottish Clubs.

Footwear for the early pioneers in the USA was a standard plimsoll or gym shoe. It was not until 1921 that the Converse shoe company would produce a special basketball shoe designed by "Chuck" Taylor. It featured a canvas top and a specially designed rubber sole to improve traction on the hardwood floors. The company later introduced a 'high top' version designed to support the player's ankle. The Original "Chuck" Taylor shoe dominated the basketball world market until the 1960s when shoes with leather uppers were introduced.

Dunlop had entered the sports shoe market in the 1920's and added a basketball product based on the design of the Converse High Top to their catalogue in the 1940's. The Dunlop shoe was readily available to Scottish basketball enthusiasts but the ambition of the top players was to own a pair of "Chuck" Taylors. It was not until the opening of the Kirknewton USAF unit in the 1960s that the American product became widely available. Puma and the small Nike company did not enter the basketball shoe market until the 1970's. On it's introduction in Nike's "Air" Jordan shoe supplanted the Converse shoe as the most popular basketball footwear and helped establish the company as a world leader in sports equipment.

In order to identify individual participants as points were scored and fouls committed, each player was required to wear a top with a number on the front and back of the garment. Athletic vests were commonly used in the early years. Each team would choose a colour and doting mothers, wives or girl friends would sew on the numerals. Colour clashes were quite common making the referees' task more difficult. As the sport became more popular a few clothing companies offered to supply custom made playing uniforms with team names and numbers attached.

Free standing basketball goals were commonplace. The backboard was supported on a tubular metal frame with a heavy counterweight located at ground level to the rear. Due to the weight of the backboard and ring, the base of the metal frame was inside the court. Players had to be careful not to run into the support whether in attack or defence. In small gymnasia the walls would be considered as the court boundary and backboards rarely projected into the court more than a few inches.

The Glasgow based sports equipment manufacturer, Hampden Sports, enjoyed a period of sustained business as they supplied basketball goals to Scottish schools and sports centres. They even designed an aluminium basketball ring which incorporated metal loops to attach the nets. The innovative design failed as the softer aluminium proved unable to cope with the constant contact with basketballs striking the front of the ring which eventually started to bend.


CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO WELCOME PAGE MENU