Do you remember the good old days when the neighborhood kids got together in a vacant lot or a large back yard to play baseball during a summer afternoon? The baseball field might have had a 70 foot right field line and 250 foot left field line. You had four players on each team. To adjust and make it a good game and a fair game, you had to come up with your own ground rules.
You had enough players for a pitcher, a third baseman, a shortstop, and a left fielder. To make it work, you set up the rule that if a player hit the ball to the first base side or to right field it was an out. There was no first baseman so you decided it was “pitcher’s hands,” meaning on a ground ball if the pitcher got it before the runner got to first, they were out. And the greatest rule was having an invisible runner, if a player was on second base and it was their turn to bat, an invisible runner took their place.
It might be that half-way thru the game, you realized you needed a new rule to keep the game fair, so you revised or added rules to make it be better and fairer.
In 2026-7 in Illinois HS basketball they are adding a shot clock. The other day someone said to me,”That’s not basketball, you can’t keep changing the game.” The reality is that basketball has been a game like your backyard baseball games- it has constantly changed since it’s beginning.
No Running With The Ball- One of the biggest change was the decision to allow dribbling. Initially it was illegal to “run with the ball.” It was decided that if you were dribbling the ball, it was ok because you didn’t have possession of the ball.
Who’s Ball- You may have heard basketball players referred to as “cagers.” The term comes from the days when there was no out of bounds. If a ball went into the stands or if a wild shot went into the balcony, the play was still live. Players would race to get the ball and wrestle for it. Whoever got there first, it was there ball. As one can imagine, it was not safe to have players racing up into a balcony and wrestling for a ball. To prevent this, some gyms put chicken wire around the court to prevent the ball from going far, thus the players were in a cage or were “cagers.”
Big Men Have To Much Influence- Throughout basketball history there have been attempts to neutralize the “big man.” In 1937-8 season, the center jump after made baskets was eliminated. With George Mikan and Wilt Chamberlain, the lane was widened. With Lew Alcindor, the dunk was outlawed.
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| 1944 Galesburg HS Managers |
Sub Like Baseball- It was not until 1944-5 season that there was unlimited subbing for a player. Originally basketball was like baseball, if you left the game, you were done. It was not until 1920-1 where it was decided you could come back in one time, then in 1934-5 that you could come back in twice.
Fouls Are Fouls- Originally any violation was considered a foul. If you traveled with the ball, it was a foul. One of the first rules was that if one team committed three fouls in a row before the other team fouled- the non-fouling team was awarded one point. In 1910-1, it was decided you were disqualified with 4 fouls. This was expanded to 5 fouls in 1944-5.
The recent change where teams don’t shoot the bonus until the other team has committed five fouls and then the foul total is reset each quarter is an example of a rule that influenced the game. As a result, there are fewer free throws and less penalty for fouling.
How Many Points- Originally a player was awarded one point for a free throw or a field goal. Then it went to two points for a field goals. Originally anyone could shoot a free throw for the team but they only got one free throw. In 1954-5, they went to the concept of a bonus free throw. In the 1980’s the three point shot was added. In the WNBA All-Star game they have added a four point shot.
Just Play- Throughout time the biggest issue basketball has wrestled with- trying to figure how to eliminate the stall. In 1933 they added the 10 second line. In the 1960’s a variety of rules about dribbling and being guarded were added that required a nuclear scientist to figure out. Today the shot clock has been added.
“Finally Coach Schisler signaled the Gold outfit to commence playing, and was called for coaching.”
This is taken from the Galesburg newspaper describing a Knox College vs Lombard College game in 1924. Lombard had stalled for over 31 of the 40 minutes and with 2 minutes to go, the Lombard coach got up to tell his players to quit stalling.
Until 1948-1949 season, it was illegal for a coach to coach their players during a game. A coach could not yell directions to their team during the game. A coach could not talk to the players during a time out, the players remained out on the floor. A coach could talk to their team during half-time.
I am not an advocate of returning to this rule but some positive things that resulted from this rule:
1- The adage that games are won or lost in practice certainly was something the coach had to believe in at this time.
2- The designation of a captain was much more important, and the role of the captain was certainly more significant. The captain organized the team during time outs.
3- Sportsmanship by coaches was definitely at a higher level- if a coach yelled anything, it resulted in one warning and then a technical.
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| 1945 Galesburg HS Managers |
One of the most interesting things about this rule was that schools usually had a wagon of some sort for the managers to take towels and water out to the players during a time out. The Galesburg Silver Streaks had a unique little train for the managers to take on the floor.
Stories were told of coaches strategically placing a note on the train on its way out to the players, or the coach telling a manager to give the players a message.
We don’t know what adjustments are made to the game of basketball in coming years, we can just be sure the game will be different in twenty years from what it is today.
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