What was James Naismith’s net worth at the time of his death?
James Naismith was a Canadian-American physical education instructor who had a net worth of $500,000 (adjusted for inflation) at the time of his death.
He is best known as the inventor of the sport of basketball.
His gift of basketball is played in more than 200 countries worldwide.
Biography
He was born on November 6, 1861, in Almonte, Canada West.
Naismith never had a middle name, but he is sometimes called James “A.” Naismith.
His parents died of typhoid fever in 1870.
After his parents passed away, Naismith lived with his uncle and aunt for many years
At age 15, James dropped out of school to work in logging camps.
At age 20, Naismith returned to school.
December 31, 1932 – @Getty
In 1883, he graduated from Almonte High School.
In 1887, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the McGill University in Montreal. During college, Naismith was an excellent athlete and participated in many sports including — rugby, gymnastics, lacrosse, and football.
In 1890, he received the Master of Divinity degree from the Presbyterian Church.
In 1891, Naismith invented the game of basketball
While working for Springfield YMCA, he received the task from the Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick Jr. of introducing a new indoor game “that would be easy to play in the winter and by artificial light.”
In 1891, Naismith invented the game of basketball as a way to make physical education less dangerous and more enjoyable.
He was inspired by the popular games of the day (soccer, baseball, rugby, football, and lacrosse) and by a game he had played as a child called “duck on a rock.”
The first basketball team, consisting of nine players. . In the center row are Frank Mahan and Dr. James Naismith. – @Getty
On December 21, 1891, the first game of basketball was played at Springfield College.
For the first basketball game, Naismith used two empty peach baskets and a soccer ball.
“I called the boys to the gym and I told them the idea was to throw the ball into the opposing team’s peach basket,” Nasimith later revealed in an interview. He added: “I blew a whistle, and the first game of basketball began.”
In the first basketball game, dribbling was not established.
He also wrote the game’s original thirteen rules.
On January 15, 1892, his 13 rules were printed in the Springfield College school newspaper — “The Triangle.”
In 1893, basketball was introduced internationally by the YMCA movement.
January 01, 1900 – @Getty
In 1895, he moved to Denver, Colorado. There, he worked as the physical education director of the YMCA. About four years later, he earned his medical degree from the University of Colorado Medical School.
In 1904, basketball was used as a demonstration sport at the Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri.
In WWI, Naismith spent 19 months in Paris. He returned to Kansas in March 1919.
In 1925, James became an American citizen.
In 1936, he went to Germany to see basketball become an Olympic sport. His trip was sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. For the first Olympic basketball game, he tossed the ball for the tipoff.
In 1937, he retired from KU.
In 1937, he helped form the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball,
In 1938, Naismith received the Legum Doctorate degree at McGill University.
Wife
On June 20, 1894, James Naismith married Maude E. Sherman.
Naismith and his wife had five kids:
- James Sherman (b. in 1913);
- Maude Ann (b. in 1904);
- John Edwin (b. in 1900);
- Helen Carolyn (b. in 1897);
- Margaret Mason (b. in 1895).
In 1937, Maude passed away.
On June 11, 1939, Naismith married his second wife, Florence Kincaid. She passed away in 1977. She was 98.
Death
On November 28, 1939, James Naismith died in his home in Lawrence
His book, Basketball — its Origins and Development, was published in 1941 posthumously.
In 1959, he became the first member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 2010, Naismith’s hand-written rules for basketball were bought at auction by businessman David Booth for $4.3 million.
In July 2019, he was inducted into Toronto’s Walk of Fame.
Net Worth
So, how much was James Naismith worth?
Naismith earned most of his wealth from working at the University of Kansas in several positions, including — Athletic Director, Professor, Physician, and Instructor in Physical Education
In 2018, his house in Lawrence was put on the market for $300,000. Therefore, at the time of his death and adjusted for inflation, James Naismith had an estimated net worth of $500,000.
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I am Bulgarea Candin Stefan, and I founded FamousPeopleToday.com in 2018. I’m using my bachelor’s degree in economics and 9 years of experience in blogging to guide millions of people through the incredibly complex world of celebrity net worths.