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Spirit in Motion: Canada and the Paralympics

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By Sali Lafrenie

With the Olympic Games winding down and the Paralympic Games winding up in 2 weeks, it’s time for a paralympic preview. The 2024 Paralympics will also take place in Paris, from August 28th to September 8th, and will include 22 sports:

  • Para archery
  • Para athletics
  • Para badminton
  • Blind football
  • Boccia (similar to bocce and pétanque)
  • Para canoe
  • Para cycling
  • Para equestrian
  • Goalball
  • Para judo
  • Para powerlifting
  • Para rowing
  • Shooting Para Sport
  • Sitting volleyball
  • Para swimming
  • Para table tennis
  • Para taekwondo
  • Para triathlon
  • Wheelchair basketball
  • Wheelchair fencing
  • Wheelchair rugby (previously called murderball)
  • Wheelchair tennis

While the Modern Olympic Games date back to 1896, the Paralympics have a different history. The Paralympic Games as we know them date back to 1984. But they had a different name from 1960 to 1980: the International Stoke Mandeville Games.

The International Stoke Mandeville Games

Although the International Stoke Mandeville Games began in 1960, their origin dates to 1948 at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. Like the Inter-Allied Games and the Invictus Games, the Stoke Mandeville Games were meant to be a rehabilitative experience for people with disabilities and for veterans. The Games eventually grew into a large-scale sports competition.

Initially consisting of only wheelchair athletes, the Games grew over time to include athletes from other countries—making them international—as well as athletes with a range of disabilities, which lead to the inclusion of more sports.

While the International Stoke Mandeville Games are considered the precursor to the Paralympics, there are and were many different types of sports competitions for athletes with disabilities such as the World Abilitysport Games, the Special Olympics, the Parapan American Games, and the Deaflympics (first held in Paris in 1924).

Below, we can see photographs of athletes competing at the 1972 International Stoke Mandeville Games in sports like archery, swimming, and wheelchair basketball.

A black and white photograph of a wheelchair archer drawing a bow and wearing a t-shirt with a maple leaf on it.

Archery, 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, Heidelberg, Germany, August 1–10, 1972. (e011783300)

A black and white photograph of Para swimmers in the water holding onto the starting blocks.

Swimming, 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, Heidelberg, Germany, August 1–10, 1972. (e011783302)

A black and white photograph of two wheelchair basketball teams at tip off.

Basketball, 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, Heidelberg, Germany, August 1–10, 1972. (e011783301)

Canada and the Paralympic Games

Participating in the Games for over 50 years, Canadian Para athletes have a long and shiny history at the Paralympics. It’s safe to say that Canadian Para athletes tend to win a lot, given that they rank fourth in All-Time Paralympic Summer Games Medal Standings. Team Canada has dominating records in Para swimming, Para athletics, Para cycling, and wheelchair basketball. Notable athletes in these sports include Benoît Huot, Michelle Stilwell, Chantal Petitclerc, and Richard Peter.

Each of these athletes have made their mark on parasport history in different ways. Huot did so at Rio 2016 when he earned his 20th Paralympic medal, officially tying the record for second all-time Paralympic swimming medals. Stilwell left her mark in two different sports, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair racing, winning at least one gold medal in both sports. Senator Chantal Petitclerc, perhaps one of the most recognizable names in Canadian parasport alongside Rick Hansen, represented Canada at 5 Paralympics and won 21 medals. Richard Peter, also a dual-sport athlete and five-time Paralympian, competed in wheelchair basketball and in Para badminton, winning multiple medals with the wheelchair basketball team throughout his career. Peter was also featured in the docuseries “Chiefs and Champions” highlighting Indigenous athletes representing Canada in sports.

A colour photograph of athletes wearing red Team Canada jackets, one in the foreground standing and shaking the Prime Minister’s hand and another in the background speaking to someone.

Paralympic athlete Benoît Huot during recognition ceremony at Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Credit: Jason Ransom. (MIKAN 5586583)

A colour photograph of athletes wearing red Team Canada jackets sitting in wheelchairs and moving in a line to shake the hands of members of parliament.

Paralympic athletes Michelle Stilwell and Jason Crone during recognition ceremony at Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Credit: Jill Thompson. (MIKAN 5609841)

A colour photograph of athletes, three in the foreground in wheelchairs wearing Paralympic medals and seven sitting on benches in the background.

Paralympic athletes Tyler Miller, Marco Dispaltro, and Richard Peter during recognition ceremony at Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Credit: Jason Ransom. (MIKAN 5609841)

The Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame

Canadians have made an impact on the Games inside and outside of the competition itself. Currently, the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame consists of 42 inductees in three categories: builders, coaches, and athletes.

One important builder is Dr. Robert W. Jackson, an orthopaedic surgeon who is credited with founding the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association and as being a major advocate of parasports. While Dr. Jackson’s legacy lies in his contributions to the medical field as a pioneer of arthroscopic surgery, his legacy is also important to the world of sports. Outside of his work promoting parasports, Dr. Jackson also worked with professional athletes in two major leagues: the Canadian Football League (Toronto Argonauts) and the National Basketball Association (Dallas Mavericks). And in 1976, he was responsible for organizing the Paralympics in Toronto, also known as the Toronto Olympiad. All of this and more can be found in Dr. Jackson’s fonds here at LAC.

Another important Hall of Fame inductee is Eugene Reimer, a member of the first Canadian Paralympic team and a dominant wheelchair athlete. Throughout his athletic career, Reimer won 10 medals across 4 Paralympics and more than 50 medals at national and international competitions. He was also named Canadian male athlete of the year for these achievements. Reimer was an all-around athlete, a true competitor and multi-talented athlete who also played for the Vancouver Cable Cars wheelchair basketball team—the same team that Rick Hansen and Terry Fox played on in British Columbia. Check out this photo of Reimer competing in Para archery at the 1972 Games.

A black and white photograph of a row of archers sitting in wheelchairs.

Canada’s Eugene Reimer, archery, 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, Heidelberg, Germany, August 1–10, 1972. (e011783299)

Athletes and sports to watch

Turning back to Paris 2024, let’s look at some of the athletes and sports coming up!

Given Canada’s success in Para swimming, it only makes sense to start there. This year, Canada is sending 22 Para swimmers to Paris. While there are some new faces, there are quite a few familiar ones including Aurélie Rivard, Nicholas Bennett, and Katarina Roxon, who will be competing in her fifth Paralympics.

While there are a lot of crossover sports between the Olympic and the Paralympic Games, one of the best parts of the Paralympics are the sports that are unique to them, like goalball. If you’ve never watched the sport, then you’re in for an exciting time, and if you have watched goalball, then you know exactly what I mean. The women’s goalball team has seen a lot of success recently and historically, securing their spot in Paris by winning gold at the 2023 Parapan American Games.

Just like the Olympics, the Paralympics are always evolving and changing. Sometimes that evolution looks like adding or removing sports, and other times it looks like providing more parity between athletes and prize money. In the last 16 years, the Paralympics have added five sports to their roster: Para rowing, Para triathlon, Para canoe, Para badminton, and Para taekwondo. It’s an exciting time to be a sports fan, and if you can’t get enough of the Paralympic Games and want to learn more, check out this list of 50 Things To Know About The Paralympic Games. Happy watching!

Additional Resources

  • 2012-09-19 Olympians, Library and Archives Canada (MIKAN 5609841)
  • 2015-07-10 Toronto Pan American Games, Library and Archives Canada (MIKAN 5610897)
  • Amazing athletes: an all-star look at Canada’s Paralympians by Marie-Claude Ouellet and Jacques Goldstyn; translated by Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott (OCLC 1240172154)

Sali Lafrenie is a Portfolio Archivist in the Private Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

 

Faster, Higher, Stronger: Canada at the Summer Olympics

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By Sali Lafrenie

The Olympics are heating up! With the games underway, now is the perfect time to dive back into our Olympic coverage here at Library and Archives Canada. While Canada is often considered a powerhouse in winter sports, Canadian athletes have earned more medals at the Summer Games than at the Winter Games. To date, Canada has earned a total of 326 medals at the Summer Olympics, with the most success in athletics, aquatics (swimming, artistic swimming, and diving) and paddle sports (canoe/kayak and rowing).

In this instalment of our Olympics series, we’re revisiting these popular medal sports and a few others!

Five Canadian postage stamps depicting various Olympic sports, such as diving, cycling, swimming, athletics, and gymnastics.

Canadian postage stamps depicting sports moments from the 1992 Olympic Games. (e003576364)

The Matchless Six: Amsterdam 1928

Remembered for their outstanding performances at the 1928 Olympics, the “Matchless Six” were Canada’s first Olympic women’s team. But why were they the first? And what did they do?

Despite the modern Olympic Games beginning in 1896, women were not allowed to compete in athletics until 1928. The team, consisting of Fanny Rosenfeld, Jean Thompson, Myrtle Cook, Florence Jane Bell, Ethel Smith, and Ethel Catherwood, made history by collectively winning four medals and competing in four events. Their dominance was particularly impressive given that women could only compete in five athletics events at the time.

The Matchless Six paved the way for future generations of Canadian women in athletics. They have since all been recognized individually in multiple halls of fame in Canada and in Parks Canada’s registry of National Historic Persons.

Photograph of six women dressed in white blazers and skirts posing for a photo. Four other individuals are present in the background.

The Matchless Six: Canadian women’s track and field team taking part in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. (a151001)

A Family of Olympians: 1912, 1960–1968

After qualifying for and competing in the 1912 Olympics, John “Army” Howard became the first Black Olympian to represent Canada (the first Black Canadian-born Olympian to medal was Raymond Lewis in 1932). Although his athletic career was put on hold while he served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War, he got the chance to compete one more time for Canada at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games where he won bronze in the 100-metre event. Photos of the 1919 Inter-Allied Games can also be found in our collection.

His legacy continued through his grandchildren, Valerie and Harry Jerome, both of whom competed at the Olympics during the 1960s. Making their Olympic debut together in Rome 1960, the brother-sister duo made an impact on and off the track. They both won numerous medals at the National Championships, the Pan American Games, and the Commonwealth Games. However, it was Harry who made multiple Olympic appearances, winning bronze in the 100-metre event. Their family left an enduring mark on Canadian athletics and provided early representation for Black athletes on Team Canada.

Photograph of three athletes running on a track across the finish line at the Olympics.

Harry Jerome competing at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico. (a209764k)

Medal Droughts: 1912–1984 and 1936–2024?

Sometimes medal droughts happen, but the important part is when they end. Canada has experienced two notable medal droughts, particularly in swimming and basketball. For decades, Canadian swimmers were shut out from the top of the podium, leaving George Hodgson as our sole gold medal winner—he won two gold medals and set four world records in 1912. With the outbreak of the First World War, Hodgson put his athletic career on hold to serve as a flight sub-lieutenant with the Royal Naval Air Service. In 1984, the 72-year drought ended spectacularly with golden finishes by Alex Baumann, Anne Ottenbrite (the first Canadian woman to win gold in swimming), and Victor Davis.

Photograph of a man in a swimsuit.

George Hodgson. (a050291)

In basketball, Canadian teams have been working hard to end an 88-year drought. However, with recent success at the FIBA World Cup and the Pan American Games, both the men’s and women’s teams are suiting up for the Olympics together for the first time in over two decades. With Canadian players at an all-time high in the NBA and growing buzz about a new WNBA franchise coming to Canada in 2026, will 2024 be the year that Canadian basketball ends its medal drought?

Photograph of a man and a woman standing together.

Alisha Tatham, a member of the London 2012 women’s basketball team—the team’s first appearance since the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Credit: Jason Ransom. (MIKAN 5609841)

Paddling to the Podium: 1992–1996 and 2004–2012

Team Canada has an extensive history of success in paddle sports, winning a total of 69 medals at the Summer Games in rowing (introduced at the Paris 1900 Games) and kayaking (introduced at the Paris 1924 Games). So, it should come as no surprise that rowing ranks as the third most successful event for Canadians at the Summer Olympics, with kayaking coming in fourth.

The most successful Canadian athletes in these sports have each earned four medals: Marnie McBean, Kathleen Heddle, and Adam van Koeverden. McBean and Heddle competed at Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, earning four medals in two games and the titles of triple gold medallists. Now a member of Parliament, kayaker van Koeverden earned four medals in three games and is often referred to as Canada’s most successful paddler.

McBean and Heddle’s golden achievements have earned them both induction into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame—a recognition van Koeverden should expect to receive as well.

Photograph of two men smiling and shaking hands.

Adam van Koeverden meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper after the London 2012 Olympics. Credit: Jason Ransom. (MIKAN 5609841)

Back-to-Back Appearances: 2000–2004 and 2020–2024

Competing in the women’s water polo event at Paris 2024, Team Canada is making their fourth appearance at the Summer Games. Earning their Olympic berth in dramatic fashion earlier this year, the women’s water polo team is looking to make some waves. While we eagerly wait to see how the team will do, let’s look back at the team from Sydney 2000 and their notable co-captain, Waneek Horn-Miller.

Known for her athletic skills and motivational speaking, Waneek Horn-Miller is one of Canada’s most influential women in sport. She’s also the first Mohawk woman to compete for Team Canada at the Olympics. Co-leading the first women’s Olympic water polo team in 2000 to their best-ever finish, she also competed at the 1999 Pan American Games and at the 2001 FINA World Championships. While Horn-Miller no longer competes, she continues to share her love for sports and community through her work as a sports commentator, brand ambassador, and public speaker. In addition to sharing her experiences of the Oka Crisis, Waneek is the director of the Storyboot Project and served as assistant chef de mission at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

Photograph of numerous athletes marching behind a man carrying a large Canadian flag.

Team Canada at the opening ceremony for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Waneek Horn-Miller can be seen in front with both of her arms stretched out wide. Credit: Deborah Ransom. (MIKAN 5603894)

While the hunt for the podium continues for popular sports like hockey, football, volleyball, and basketball, the games have yet to begin for newer sports like skateboarding, sport climbing, and breaking (making its debut). So, what’s in store for Team Canada? Which sports are you most excited to watch? And, who’s going to be the flagbearer for the closing ceremony?

Additional Resources

Sali Lafrenie is a Portfolio Archivist in the Private Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

Ahead by a Century: remembering the Paris 1924 Olympics

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By Sali Lafrenie

Picture it. Paris, 1924.

You’re at the Summer Olympic Games. And there are roughly 3,000 other athletes there with you.

What sport are you playing? Tennis? Maybe soccer? Basketball? Oh wait, is it aquatics? Athletics? No, boxing? Well, whatever it is, I bet you’re excited. You should be: Team Canada only sent 65 competitors, and this is the first time the Games are going to be broadcast live on the radio!

A black and white panoramic photograph of an outdoor stadium with hundreds of athletes.

General view of the Stadium of Colombes at the beginning of the 1924 Olympic Games (e011783298).

Considered to be the most successful of the Modern Games, the 1924 Summer Games in Paris looked very different from the Olympics that we know and love today. For starters, there were only 17 sports included in these Games. Five sports had been dropped from the previous iteration in 1920, with others included solely for demonstration or exhibition purposes.

Playing host for a third time, Paris 2024 will see Canada send 338 athletes to compete. The Games boast a whopping 32 sports, doubling the number of sports included at the 1924 Olympics.

In honour of the centenary, let’s dive into the 1924 Olympic Games!

1924 Winter Olympics

Did you know that when France bid to host the Summer Olympics in 1924, they accidentally started a new trend? That trend was the Winter Olympic Games.

The practice of hosting the Summer and Winter Games in the same year—sometimes in the same country—continued until 1992 when the International Olympic Committee decided to shift the Games to an alternating two-year schedule.

Before 1924, the Olympics only consisted of summer sports and did not have a winter sports equivalent. But there’s always a first. Hosted in Chamonix, France from January 25 to February 5, 1924, 260 athletes competed across 16 events. This means that 2024 is also the 100-year anniversary of the first Winter Olympic Games.

While Canada only sent 12 athletes to these Games—collectively earning a singular medal—there’s more to the story than that. The Chamonix Olympics was just the beginning for these athletes and the Canadian Winter Olympic Team, which had a roster of 215 athletes in 2022.

Charles “Charlie” Gorman, New Brunswicker and First World War Veteran, was one of these athletes. He made his Olympic debut in speed skating alongside the debut of the sport itself. Despite a disappointing finish in the 1924 Games, Gorman competed and won medals for Team Canada in numerous competitions, such as the American Championships, the Canadian Championships, and the World Championships.

A black and white photograph of a man speed skating and looking directly at the camera.

Photo of Charles Gorman speed skating (a050382).

Cecil Smith Hedstrom also made history at these Olympic Games when she became the first female Olympian to represent Canada. Competing in figure skating, Smith appeared in three Olympic Games and achieved many early feats to propel Canadian figure skating onto the world stage. For all these reasons and more, Smith was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1991.

Earning the only medal for Team Canada at the Chamonix Games, the Toronto Granites Hockey Club won Canada’s first Winter Olympic gold medal. With this win, the Granites extended Canada’s Olympic ice hockey medal streak, initiated in 1920 by the Winnipeg Falcons who won gold in Antwerp. While ice hockey made its debut in the Antwerp Games, that was the first and last time the sport was included in the Summer Olympics. This means that Canada is the only country to have won a gold medal in ice hockey at both the Summer and the Winter Olympic Games.

A black and white photograph of a men’s hockey team standing on the ice holding hockey sticks.

Winnipeg Falcons, Olympic Champions (a049622).

1924 Summer Olympics

While all Olympic Games are important, the 1924 Summer Games had a special glow to it: live radio transmissions, the introduction of the Athlete’s Village, and the debut of the Olympic motto, “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”  The Modern Games ushered in a new era of international sports competitions that has only continued to expand in size and spectacle since 1924.

One of the greatest success stories of the 1924 Olympics comes from a group of athletes who technically were not a part of the Games: the Edmonton Grads. Although basketball was not officially included in the Olympics—men’s basketball would join in 1936 and women’s basketball would join in 1976—the Fédération sportive féminine internationale (FSFI) decided to hold their own matches alongside the Summer Games.

At home and abroad, the Grads were a difficult team to beat. They won approximately 95% of all the games they ever played and won the FSFI women’s basketball tournaments in 1924, 1928, and 1936.

Two black and white photographs of a group of female athletes. The first photograph has nine women standing in a line with one holding a basketball. The second photograph has nine women posing in two rows with a man standing in the middle of the back row.

Team photos of the Edmonton Grads in 1924 and 1936 (a050440) and (a050442).

Making his Olympic debut, Canadian hurdler Warren “Monty” Montabone soared onto the world stage in Paris 1924 and then again in Amsterdam 1928. In between Olympic appearances, Monty also set a Canadian record that stood for 58 years in the 110 m hurdles event. His athletic career can be traced beyond the Olympics all the way back to his time as a student athlete at Loyola and as an amateur athlete with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association.

Another athlete who made his Olympic debut in 1924 is Victor Pickard, the pole vaulter and javelin thrower. Pickard represented Canada at two Olympic Games (1924 and 1928) and won a gold medal in pole vaulting at the British Empire Games in 1930. During his athletic career, Pickard’s highest jump at the Olympics was 3.45 m, but his personal best was 4.15 m. Today, the Canadian pole vault record stands at 6.00 m and the world pole vault record stands at 6.24 m.

Two black and white photographs of a male pole vaulter. The first shows a man jumping over a bar with a vaulting pole. The second shows a man holding a vaulting pole horizontally before beginning to run.

Victor Pickard at the 1924 Olympics (a151000) and (a151014).

While every Olympic Games is different, they always guarantee two things: excitement and excellence. Whether that’s through record-breaking performances, making a political statement or rallying around an athlete in need, the Olympics have got something for everyone. The Games have come to symbolize a lot more than just fair play, athleticism, and national identity. They’re a cultural moment. They bring people together in bars, in living rooms, and in schools. They’re history in the making and they’re just getting started.

Additional Resources

Sali Lafrenie is a Portfolio Archivist in the Private Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

The invention of basketball and the Canadian participants in the first ever basketball game

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By Normand Laplante

December 21, 2016 marks the 125th anniversary of the invention of basketball by Canadian James Naismith and of the first game ever played. In the fall of 1891, Naismith was studying to become a YMCA physical education instructor at the International YMCA Training Institute in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was given the task of finding a suitable indoor recreational sport for a physical education class for men aspiring to become executive YMCA secretaries. This group of “incorrigibles” had shown little interest in undertaking traditional calisthenics and gymnastics exercises and their reluctance had led the two previous physical instructors assigned to the group to quit. Naismith first attempted to have the class play modified indoor versions of football, soccer and even the Canadian game of lacrosse. However, these initiatives proved unsuccessful, largely due to the physical restraints imposed by a small gymnasium. Naismith then came up with the idea of a new sport, based on a children’s game Duck on the rock, where two teams would battle each other to throw a ball into the opposing team’s basket to score points. On December 21, 1891, Naismith presented his 13 rules for the new game to the class and separated the group into two teams of nine players. While the final score of the game was only 1-0, the new sport proved to be a big hit with the players.

A black-and-white photograph with a list of all the players pictured, as well as those missing from the photograph who were part of the first team.

Members of the world’s first basketball team, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1891 (c038009-v8)

The participants in the first game included four Canadians who, like Naismith, were studying at the International YMCA Training Institute in Springfield: Lyman W. Archibald, Finlay G. MacDonald and John George Thompson, from Nova Scotia, and Thomas Duncan Patton, from Montreal. As graduate trainees of the Institute returning to their new duties in Canada, some members of the “First Team” were
instrumental in spreading the new sport through the YMCA network in different regions of Canada.

Detail from a black-and-white photograph of the first basketball team.

Lyman W. Archibald, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1891 (c038009-v8)

Originally from Truro, Nova Scotia, Lyman W. Archibald (1868-1947) became general secretary and physical director of the St. Stephen, New Brunswick, YMCA in 1892 and organized one of the first basketball games played in Canada in the fall of 1892 in this town on the Canada-US border. In 1893, Archibald moved on to Hamilton, Ontario where, as a YMCA physical instructor, he brought the sport to that region.

Update (January 2024): While the St. Stephen court is the oldest surviving basketball court in the world, new research reveals that it is highly probable Ottawa is the birthplace of the sport in Canada, since it was the first place on record to organize a game of basketball. As described in The Ottawa Journal newspaper, the first recorded game took place at the Ottawa YMCA on Monday, October 3, 1892, when the facility reopened for the winter. This was less than 10 months after the first ever basketball game played at Springfield College under Dr. Naismith.

Detail from the black-and-white photograph of the first basketball team.

John G. Thompson, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1891 (c038009-v8)

After graduating from the YMCA Training Institute in 1895, John G. Thompson (1859-1933), from Merigomish, Nova Scotia, returned to his home province and, in 1895, was appointed physical education director at the new YMCA building in New Glasgow, where he introduced basketball to the Pictou County region.

Detail from the black-and-white photograph of the first basketball team.

T. Duncan Patton, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1891 (c038009-v8)

T. Duncan Patton (1865-1944), originally from Montreal, was one of the two team captains selected by Naismith for the first game. He is said to have introduced the sport to India as a YMCA missionary in 1894. Later on, as YMCA secretary in Winnipeg in the early 1900s, Patton influenced the early organizers of the game in that city.

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holds the D. Hallie Lowry collection which includes photographs of Naismith and of participants of the first basketball game in Springfield. The National Council of Young Men’s Christian Associations of Canada fonds includes a copy of James Naismith’s 1941 book, Basketball: Its Origins and Development, autographed by some of the members of the first basketball team, including Canadians T. Duncan Patton and Lyman W. Archibald; and Patton’s personal published account of the origins of the sport, Basketball: How and When Introduced, written before 1939. LAC’s collection also has photographs of early basketball teams which provide visual documentation of the development of the sport in Canada.

A black-and-white photograph showing four young men posing around a basketball.

An early photograph of a Canadian basketball team which included Norman Bethune (second from the bottom) with Clark, Lewis and McNeil, members of the Owen Sound Collegiate Institute basketball team, ca 1905 (a160721)

Related Links

Normand Laplante is a senior archivist in the Society and Culture Division of the Private Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

Update (January 2024): Leo Doyle is the founder of the Ottawa Basketball Network, a not-for-profit organization that advocates for improved growth and equitable access to the game of basketball.

James Naismith: his early formative years in Canada leading to the invention of basketball

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The origins of popular sports such as baseball, football and hockey are often difficult to pinpoint; often a number of individuals and places claim to be the inventor or the birthplace of a sport. However, there is no dispute on who invented the sport of basketball: Canadian Dr. James Naismith. Born in the Ottawa valley town of Almonte, province of Canada on November 6, 1861, James Naismith was orphaned at a very young age and was raised along with his older sister Annie and younger brother Robbie by his uncle and aunt.

A popular childhood game in Naismith’s youth was “duck on the rock.” A stone called “the duck” was placed on a larger stone or a tree stump. The objective of the game was for players to knock the duck stone off its base, run to retrieve their own stone and return to the original throwing location. A participant would play the role of the “guard” whose role was to pick up the duck rock if it had been knocked off, place it back on its base, and race to tag one of the throwers before the latter returned to his starting point. While each player had his or her throwing technique, Naismith noticed that the most successful players lobbed their stone with aim and accuracy which would allow them more time to pick up their stone. The memory of this childhood game would influence his creation of the game of basketball.

A black-and-white photograph of a group of men standing in a field watching a game of duck on the rock.

A game of duck on a rock, Alberta, September 1906 (MIKAN 3386054)

Naismith struggled with his studies and decided to quit during his second year at Almonte High School at the age of 15. He preferred to work on the family farm in the summer and the logging camps in the winter. The 1881 Canadian census lists his occupation at the age of 19 as a farmer.

Later that year, Naismith decided to go back to high school and graduated in 1883 at the age of 21. He moved to Montréal and pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Honours and Philosophy and Hebrew at McGill University. Late 19th-century Montréal was an important centre for the early development of organized sports in Canada and North America. The first official rules for popular sports such as lacrosse and hockey were elaborated during that period. Naismith—blessed with natural athletic abilities—was drawn to many sports played at the university including gymnastics, rugby football and lacrosse. He graduated from McGill with a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education in 1888. These interests led him to be named the first director of physical training at McGill in the fall of 1889.

A black-and-white photograph of two rugby football players crouching, the man on the left is holding the ball, waiting to throw it to the other man behind him.

James Naismith (on the left) playing rugby football (MIKAN 3652828)

A black-and-white photograph of the McGill University rugby football team. They are wearing striped knee socks and white uniforms adorned with a crest.

James Naismith (far left, sitting down) part of the McGill rugby football team (MIKAN 3650079).

In September 1890, Naismith moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. to attend the International YMCA Training School. Tasked with creating a new indoor sport, he invented the game of basketball. The first game was played in the YMCA gymnasium in Springfield in December 1891. Basketball has since become of one of the most popular sports in the world.

A black-and-white photograph of a group of men sitting on a staircase. On each side are the baskets that were first used in the sport.

The world’s first basketball team. Dr. James Naismith is on the right in the center row (MIKAN 3652826)

For more photos documenting Naismith’s professional and personal activities, consult the D. Hallie Lowry collection held by Library and Archives Canada.