James Naismith was the inventor of basketball, a sport that has become popular around the world. He was born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada in 1861 and was a physical education instructor at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1891, he created the game of basketball as an indoor sport to keep his students active during the winter months. He wrote the original rules of the game and is credited with inventing the first basketball hoop. Naismith's legacy lives on today as basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world.