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Geneva College celebrates being Birthplace of College Basketball

Picture of Geneva College celebrates being Birthplace of College Basketball

Article reprinted by permission of the Beaver County Times (timesonline.com), March 17, 2018. Written by Greg Macafee.

Geneva College recently celebrated the 125th anniversary of what many consider to be the first college basketball game

BEAVER FALLS — Some of the biggest names in college basketball took to the hardwood in recent days at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, but it is likely that few of them realized that just 40 miles to the north was Geneva College — the “Birthplace of College Basketball.”

While the sport of basketball may have many different origins, the inventor of the game, Dr. James Naismith, confirmed in his book, “Basketball: Its Origin and Development,” that Geneva College was the first school to play the game of basketball at the collegiate level.

Charles O. Bemies“Mr. C.O. Bemies, a Springfield boy, had gone to Geneva College as a physical director,” Naismith said in his book. “Bemies had seen the 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.”

Geneva College recently celebrated its history and the 125th anniversary of college basketball at their school. In February, the school presented a plaque, with Naismith’s quote, to the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame and its President, Larry Zigerell.

“Beaver County has an amazing sports history, and Geneva College is an important part of that heritage,” Zigerell said about the recent celebration.

A timeline established by the Geneva College archives department, which used different issues of the school newspaper, The Geneva College Cabinet, confirmed that the first college basketball game was organized intramurally by Geneva College students in February of 1892. While there are not a lot of references to the name basketball, other names such as football in the gym, basket ball and basket football were used throughout three different issues.

The first reference appeared in Vol. XIV, No. 6, February 1892 on pg. 13. It states “Football in the Gym is a popular mode of exercise at present. Some severe knocks are received, but in the excitement, they are of course not noticed.”

The second reference was made in the December issue (Vol. XV, No. 4 Pg. 15) of the same year and stated “Basket ball is quite a go in the gym now. It suits very well to take the place of foot ball for those who love a rough and tumble game.”

Finally, the last mention of the sport in the timeline mentions the first game that was played at Geneva College. It took place on April 8, 1893. Under the direction of Bemies, Geneva College played New Brighton, defeating them, 3-0.

In the April 1983 issue of The Cabinet it read, “New Brighton played a game of basket foot ball on the Geneva, Saturday night April 8th. The score was 3 goals to 0 in favor of Geneva.” At this point in the early stages of the sport, the players had to bring a ladder onto the court after every basket in order to grab the ball out of the hoop, as they had yet to cut the bottom out of the peach baskets.

The basketball tradition at Geneva is something that both the community and the school take a tremendous amount of pride in. As spectators take their seats in Metheny Fieldhouse, they see “Birthplace of College Basketball” stretching up and down the sideline of the court in large, black lettering.

But that’s not the only way they celebrate their storied history.

Geneva College Men's Basketball Coach Jeff SantarsieroHead Coach Jeff Santarsiero came to the Geneva College basketball program 30 years ago as an assistant coach and has been the head coach for the past 21 years. He said that the tradition and history that Geneva holds is something that he preaches to his team consistently, year in and year out, as they look to build on that historical legacy.

“It is such a privilege and honor to be the head coach here with that tradition involved,” Santarsiero said of the basketball history at Geneva.

“No one in the country can say that, and it is quite an honor to be a part of that. And when we’re coaching and when we’re recruiting we build on the tradition of Geneva College and how it’s a historic basketball program.”

Mar 20, 2018