Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Top choice


It was Springfield where, in 1891, a young Canadian physical education instructor called James Naismith first invented basketball. The game is celebrated at this state-of-the art museum. Though the emphasis at the basketball hall of fame seems to be more hoopla than hoops – there's an abundance of multiscreened TVs and disembodied cheering – devotees of the game will be thrilled to shoot baskets, feel the center-court excitement and learn about the sport's history and great players.

Naismith (1861–1939), who came to Springfield to work at the International YMCA Training School (later Springfield College), wanted to develop a good, fast team sport that could be played indoors during the long New England winters. In December of 1891, he had the idea of nailing two wooden peach baskets to opposite walls in the college gymnasium. He wrote down 13 rules for the game (12 of which are still used), and thus basketball was born.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Museum of Fine Arts

0.54 MILES

The 20 galleries of this art deco–style building are filled with lesser paintings of the great European masters and better works of lesser masters. The…

3. Smith Art Museum

0.57 MILES

This museum has exterior windows designed by Tiffany Studios and a fine collection of 19th-century American and European paintings, textiles, ceramics and…

4. Amazing World of Dr Seuss

0.57 MILES

This innovative museum is dedicated to the life and work of Springfield native Theodore Geisel, aka Dr Seuss. On the 1st floor, interactive exhibits use…

5. Springfield Museums

0.58 MILES

The Springfield Museums surround Museum Quadrangle, two blocks northeast of Court Sq. Out front, look for the Augustus Saint-Gaudens statue The Puritan…

6. Museum of Springfield History

0.59 MILES

Showcasing the city's distant heyday, this museum is home to the Esta Mantos Indian Motocycle collection (the world's largest). There's also a huge…

7. Springfield Science Museum

0.59 MILES

This museum possesses a respectable, if slightly outdated, range of natural history and science exhibits. The Dinosaur Hall has a full-size replica of a…