New England Carell, Ruth Gordon, John Krasinski, Edward Norton, Mark Wahlberg, and Matthew Perry. A full list of those from Massachusetts can be found here, and a listing of notable films and television series produced in the area here. Two popular American sports were invented in New England: basketball, invented by James Naismith (a Canadian) in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, and volleyball, invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Additionally, Walter Camp is credited with developing modern American football in New Haven, Connecticut, in the 1870s and 1880s. New Hampshire Motor Speedway is an oval racetrack that has hosted
James Naismith could help its track athletes to keep in shape and explicitly emphasized to "make it fair for all players and not too rough." In his attempt to think up a new game, Naismith was guided by three main thoughts. Firstly, he analyzed the most popular games of those times (rugby, lacrosse, soccer, football, hockey, and baseball); Naismith noticed the hazards of a ball and concluded that the big soft soccer ball was safest. Secondly, he saw that most physical contact occurred while running with the ball, dribbling or hitting it, so he decided that passing was the only legal option.