James Naismith

Dr. James Naismith, while teaching at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, invented the game of basketball. The first game was played on December 21, 1891. James Naismith was born on November 6, 1861 and died on November 28, 1939. James Naismith items can be found on occasion at various auction houses and on Ebay. With the Naismith auction hosted by Heritage Auctions on December 8, 2006, it became easier to acquire personal items that belonged to the Naismith. Original Naismith items are still highly sought and are usually expensive. One word of caution - there were many letters that were written by Naismith that were addressed to "Mrs. James Naismith". Those signatures are frequently cut to eliminate the appellation "Mrs.", giving the impression that he was writing his own signature. In my opinion, that is a bit of a stretch.

Ed Elbel Naismith Autographed Print 1936

Naismith Autographed Card 1939

Naismith World War I Identification 1917

Naismith's Phog Allen Portrait Print 1936