Geneva College Celebrates the 125th Anniversary of the Birthplace of College Basketball - Geneva College
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Geneva College Celebrates the 125th Anniversary of the Birthplace of College Basketball

Picture of Geneva College Celebrates the 125th Anniversary of the Birthplace of College Basketball

On Saturday evening, February 10, Geneva College celebrated the 125th anniversary of being the Birthplace of College Basketball, dating back to the first game played at Geneva on April 8, 1893, when Geneva defeated the New Brighton YMCA, 3-0.

Charles O. Bemies brought the game to Geneva College after he was hired to be the physical director at Geneva, having learned the game from Dr. James Naismith, its inventor.  In Dr. Naismith’s book, Basketball: Its Origin and Development, Naismith was quoted as saying, “Mr. C. O. Bemies, a Springfield boy, had gone to Geneva College as a physical director.  Bemies had seen the game played in the Training School gymnasium while he was home on a vacation.  He realized that it might solve the need of a winter activity in his school.  I told him of the success we had and explained to him the fundamentals of the game.  On his return to Beaver Falls he started the game in Geneva College; it is my belief, therefore, that this college was the first to play basketball.”

The celebration coincided with the last home basketball games of the season for the Geneva College men’s and women’s basketball teams.  The Golden Tornadoes played a doubleheader that evening against Chatham University, with the women starting at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 8:00 p.m.

In between the two basketball games, at 7:15 p.m., there was a special ceremony commemorating the anniversary.  Larry Zigerell, the president of the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame, presented plaques to both Geneva College, represented by Dr. Calvin L. Troup, the president of Geneva, and Michael B. Harich, the president and CEO of the Beaver County YMCA (formerly the New Brighton YMCA), recognizing these two participants of the historic game 125 years ago.

During the ceremony, Dr. Troup presented the framed quote from Naismith’s book recognizing Geneva as the Birthplace of College Basketball to the Beaver County Hall of Fame.

The evening’s festivities also included a photo booth containing a display with old basketball equipment and memorabilia where fans had their pictures taken.

Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world. 

Feb 2, 2018