Invention of Baseball

James Naismith

Struggling in school but gifted in farm labour, Naismith spent his days outside playing catch, hide-and-seek or duck on a rock, a medieval game in which a person guards a large drake stone from opposing players, who try to knock it down by throwing smaller stones at it. To play duck on a rock most effectively, Naismith soon found out that a soft lobbing shot was far more effective than a straight hard throw, a thought which later proved essential for the invention of basketball.Orphaned early in life, Naismith lived with his aunt and uncle and attended grade school at Bennies Corners near Almonte before visiting the local Almonte High School, where he graduated in 1883.