NEW research reveals the creator of basketball considered himself to be Scottish and spoke with a Scottish accent for much of his life.
Dr James Naismith, a PE teacher and the son of a Scot, created the game in 1891 and has long been claimed as Canadian because he was born in the town of Almonte, Canada in 1861.
However, the territory was a British colony at the time, and Canadian citizenship was not legalised until 1947, eight years after Naismith’s death.
Now, new research by Dr Ross Walker of the University of Stirling has sought to reclaim the inventor of basketball for Scotland and set out the Scottish influence on the creation of the game.
The research also argues for a review of the widely accepted history of basketball, which remains one of the most popular sports in North America over 130 years on from its creation.
Dr Walker, a Scot who played basketball for 15 years, representing his country during this period, said: “Until 1891, Naismith resided in a replanted Scottish community and Scot-dominated areas, living a lifestyle similar to those contemporarily in Scotland.
“In day-to-day life, Naismith spoke in Scottish mannerisms, had a Scottish accent, used the broad Scots dialect, engaged with Scottish activities, and spread his Scottish values that underpinned the actions of his life.
“Scottish culture, heritage, Presbyterianism, and nationalism formed his identity, representing who he was as a person, how he carried himself and how he saw the world around him.
“It also determined who he wanted to be and what he wanted to do in life.
“Scotland influenced the creation of basketball because Scotland influenced the creator of basketball who instilled elements of Scottishness into the sport.”
Naismith’s Scottish heritage is well documented – his father was born in Glasgow, and his maternal grandparents were Scottish – but Dr Walker’s research offers a fresh perspective on Naismith’s life before he created basketball.
Naismith was brought up in a transplanted Scottish community of immigrants which evolved simultaneously with Scotland.
In childhood he was introduced by his Scottish family to duck-on-the-rock, a game learned by his father on the streets of Glasgow which Naismith later said he used as the basis for basketball.
At school he was taught by Scots and in geography classes he learned about Scotland.
In English classes, Naismith read the works of Scottish writers, and regularly referred to Robert Burns in personal communications, even gifting his wife a book by Burns with the inscription: “Tae the bonniest lass”.
He played Scottish music on the fiddle, and took part in Highland Games, particularly enjoying hill racing and tug o’war.
When at McGill University, Naismith enlisted with The Fifth Regiment: Royal Scots of Canada Highlanders, becoming a captain.
The regiment was known as the kilted laddies because they wore tartan kilts and had a marching band with bagpipers playing traditional music.
The company celebrated Scottish culture, often hosting Scottish music festivals with members required to know traditional Scottish dances.
Dr Walker, who is a lecturer in sport management at Stirling, argues that the “American-centric” history of basketball should now be reevaluated.
He said: “While there has been some coverage of Naismith’s Scottish connection, it is very anecdotal and put across in a way which provides background to Naismith but not in a capacity which argues, and most importantly evidences, that Scotland influenced the creation of basketball through Naismith.
“My research contests the global narrative and reputation of basketball that it is a Canadian and American sport, which it is not.
“Furthermore, most of the coverage which has been shared touches solely upon his parental links to Glasgow, but nothing really delves deeply into the profound impact of his Scottish Presbyterianism, the Scottish settler communities which developed him, and much more which all led to the eventual creation of basketball.
“My research argues that, without Scotland, the global phenomenon that is basketball today may have never been created in the current form that is known and celebrated worldwide.”
Dr Walker’s research was carried out over two years and saw him review a vast quantity of documents relating to Naismith, which included historical records held in Canada and a wide range of nineteenth-century newspaper articles.
Dr Walker added: “Until his passing, Naismith maintained his Scottish beliefs, mindset, traits and values, and made multiple pilgrimages to Scotland to visit relatives and locations, even buying his wedding outfit in Scotland in 1894.
“Prior to basketball entering the 1936 Olympic Games, Naismith revisited his spiritual home one last time, connecting to where his and the journey of basketball began.
“In the words of Naismith’s grandson, Jim Naismith, Scotland was a country that he called home and cared deeply about.”
James Naismith: the creation of basketball and the Scottish connection was published in the journal Sport in History.
