On March 11, 1892, the first public game of basketball was played in Springfield, Massachusetts. The sport had been invented only months earlier by James Naismith at the YMCA Training School. This public demonstration helped spread the game beyond its original classroom and small gym context. Basketball’s simple equipment and indoor setting made it ideal for schools and community centers. The sport quickly gained popularity throughout the United States and later around the world. Today, that early public game is seen as a key moment in the rise of one of the most popular sports on Earth.
