Basketball (ball) halfcourt game of 3x3 combines characteristics of the size 6 and size 7 balls. Its circumference is that of a size 6 ball, but its weight is that of a size 7. In early December 1891, the chairman of the physical education department at the School for Christian Workers (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, instructed physical education teacher James Naismith, to invent a new game to entertain the school's athletes in the winter season. Naismith assembled his class of 18 young men, appointed captains of two nine-player teams, and set in motion the first ever basketball game, played with
James Naismith (chemist) for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). His nomination for the Academy of Medical Sciences reads: Naismith is married to Rachel Middleton with whom he has one son and one daughter. James Naismith (chemist) James Henderson Naismith (born 26 July 1968) is Professor of Structural Biology at the University of Oxford, Director of the Research Complex at Harwell and co-interim academic lead of the Rosalind Franklin Institute. He was formerly Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of St Andrews until May 2017. Naismith was educated at Hamilton Grammar School. He went on to study at the University of