12/03/24
May 16, 2018
The World's Oldest Basketball Court is in Canada: The world's oldest surviving basketball court is in a Canadian town of 4,400 people. The upper level of a former YMCA in St Stephen, New Brunswick, held a game of James Naismith's two-year-old sport on Oct. 17, 1893. The building's role in history was forgotten by 2010, when after a fire the owners lifted a carpet of an undamaged room and found a hardwood floor underneath. The court was 47 by 31 feet and there were heaters to dodge in the corners. "It's little wonder they didn't go flying out of the window," said local historian Darren McCabe.
posted by rcade to basketball at 02:25 PM - 3 comments
I guess that's where the baseboard jumper originated.
I like the idea of having iron pillars as on-court obstructions. If you're wondering what the game would look like if pillars were installed, just watch footage of the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals.
posted by beaverboard at 04:01 PM on May 16, 2018
My dad worked for a time in a bank in St. Stephen on his way to immigrating to Boston. This would have been around 1920. He used to tell a story about exchanging US dollars for Canadian for Jack Dempsey. He never said anything about basketball.
posted by Howard_T at 08:40 PM on May 16, 2018
Ah yes, I remember seeing that first game there. Lemme tell you, no one could set shot a ball into an ice bucket like ol' Ada MacKenzie Tizzard could. This while on the finest peat bog whiskey you could find.