After completing his studies at Presbyterian College, he came to the United States to teach physical education at the YMCA International Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was there that he devised the rules for a new game, one that could be played indoors during winter – basketball.

WASHINGTON (March 24, 2015) — As “March Madness” makes its annual appearance on the American sports scene, fans that understand the history of basketball know Dr. James Naismith invented the game in 1891.

What many fans probably do not know about Naismith is that he served as a chaplain in the Army National Guard and as a volunteer chaplain in France during World War I.

Naismith hailed from Canada. He attended McGill University in Montreal, where he excelled at athletics. His sports resume at McGill included playing Canadian football, lacrosse, rugby, and soccer; he was also an accomplished gymnast. He received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from McGill in 1887. Naismith remained at McGill upon graduation, teaching physical education and serving as the university’s director of athletics.

A man of diverse interests, while working at McGill, he enrolled at nearby Presbyterian College. He received a degree in theology in 1890.

After completing his studies at Presbyterian College, he came to the United States to teach physical education at the YMCA International Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was there that he devised the rules for a new game, one that could be played indoors during winter – basketball.

Basketball proved to be immensely popular from the very start, and through the YMCA, it quickly spread throughout the nation. Today it is one of the world’s most popular sports.

After Naismith earned a medical degree in 1898, from the Gross Medical School (now the University of Colorado School of Medicine), the University of Kansas hired him to be its first basketball coach. The Jayhawks’ record during his nine-year coaching tenure was nothing spectacular – 55 wins and 60 losses – but he remained at Kansas for more than 40 years, serving in such diverse roles as physical education instructor, director of the university chapel, university physician, and director of athletics.

His diverse interests came to the fore again in 1916, when he applied to be a chaplain in the Kansas Army National Guard. His desire to be a chaplain was much the same as his motivation to devise the rules for basketball: to help young people and guide them to their full potential.

Poncho Villa provided additional motivation.

In March 1916, the Mexican revolutionary led his guerrilla army in a cross-border raid on Columbus, New Mexico. In response, the U.S. Army began patrolling the national border with Mexico, and a punitive expedition under Brig. Gen. John Pershing was sent into Mexico in pursuit of Villa.

The Kansas National Guard was tapped to send troops to the border. After quickly obtaining an endorsement as a Presbyterian minister, Naismith was commissioned as the chaplain of the 1st Kansas Infantry Regiment. His regiment mobilized at Fort Riley in late June, and a few weeks later, the Kansans were at Eagle Pass, Texas, on the Rio Grande.

Naismith and his regiment spent about three months on border duty. During this time, he performed the traditional roles of a chaplain of a deployed unit: conducting services, counseling homesick Soldiers, advising his commander on the moral and spiritual needs of the unit. He made a concerted effort at convincing his Soldiers to steer clear of the houses of prostitution that sprang up near their posts. With his expertise in athletics, he organized numerous boxing matches, basketball games, and a baseball league to keep his Soldiers occupied during their off-duty time.

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