century ago sold in St. Louis on December 8 for $71,700 in the first of a
two-part auction of historical items belonging to the sport’s founder,
James Naismith.
The eight-page manuscript describing the events of the first game in Springfield, Mass., is the most significant basketball document ever to reach the auction block,” said Chris Ivy of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas.
Thirty-three items from Naismith’s archives sold on December 8 for $293,972. Nearly 300 more items will be offered in a second auction on Dec. 15. The detailed account of the first basketball game played in December 1891 was handwritten by Naismith.
It is just one item contained in a recently unearthed trove of personal documents, photographs and mementos discovered last spring, when Naismith’s granddaughter, Hellen Carpenter of suburban St. Louis, went to her basement to find an old family photograph.
Instead, Carpenter found journals, keepsakes and typewritten rule sheets that open a new window on the birth of one of the world’s most popular sports.
The five boxes of documents, photos and items were handed down to Carpenter from her mother, Hellen Naismith Dodd, Carpenter said. She kept them around for decades without looking through them.
More info...
History of Basketball in Manitoba
Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame