Duck on a Rock

A new bonanza of documents, pictures, and mementos from James Naismith, who created the game of basketball while teaching at what would become Springfield College (dcat's uncle John's alma mater, fyi) has just turned up as part of a serendipitous find by Naismith's granddaughter. Sports historians and basketball fans will be especially interested in this new trove of information that gives us a great deal more insight into the emergence of a now international sport that developed from a Canadian children's game called "Duck on a Rock."

Baseball seems to have an infinitude of creation myths. Most other sports emerged in relative obscurity by comparison, and yet these new discoveries (to be auctioned off in December) will help us to continue to piece together a vital time in the emergence of modern sporting culture. One hopes that the intact collection becomes part of a public archive and museum rather than the botty of a memorabilia collector or professional egoist.