Anyone For Basketball?

Yes, the NBA remains on lockout. But let's take a moment (coincidentally?) to note that James A. Naismith, the man who invented basketball, was born in Ontario 150 years ago this past Sunday.

Naismith, who died in 1939, invented the sport of basketball in 1891. He developed "Basket Ball" late that year while enrolled at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. The baskets were real peach baskets; the ball was a soccer ball.

Some cartoons (were there any earlier ones than these?) about the second-greatest indoor sport:


The Harlem Globetrotters (Hanna-Barbera Studios, 1970)
The Globetrotters decided to tackle the world of Saturday morning with this self-titled show. The plot was pretty straightforward; The Globies would travel the world in their cool Stars and Stripes bus, accompanied by their dog/mascot Dribbles. Driving the bus was Granny, an aging matron with a lot of pep left. The team took on all comers on the basketball court, and never lost. The show lasted almost three seasons, ending its run in May 1973.

The Harlem Globetrotters (Hanna-Barbera Studios, 1979)
The Harlem Globetrotters, America's funniest basketball team, are transformed from terrific basketball players to superheroes. They took the Impossibles' idea of transforming people into super mutant heroes. On this show, they use their athletic abilities to fight crime throughout the universe. This NBC series only lasted three months in its original run before joining up with Godzilla and Godzooky for The Godzilla/Globetrotters Adventure Hour.

"Curious George Plays Basketball" (Curious George; Atkinson Film-Arts, 1980)
Curious George sinks the winning shot in a basketball game

"Basketball Bumblers" (Scooby and Scrappy-Doo; Hanna-Barbera Studios, 1982)
The gang tries to beat basketball cheats.

"Basketball" (RIC The Raven; King Rollo Films, 1989)
Ric plays basketball three against one.

"Basketballmania" (Tommy & Oscar; Rainbow s.r.l., 1997)
Yes, basketball is for everyone. Watch a brilliant match between the children of Rainbow City and professional basketball players.

"Basketball Stories" (Clifford the Big Red Dog; Scholastic Entertainment, 2002)
Skyscraper Jackson has come to Birdwell Island for a big exhibition game, which Charley wouldn't miss for anything -- except a bad cold. But Emily, Vaz and Jetta each write a story about the game for Charley from their different points of view. Charley gets to relive the game through his friend's stories, and they have a lot of fun writing and reading them to him.

"Tea & Basketball" (Baby Looney Tunes; Warner Bros. Television Animation, 2002)
Sylvester and Lola trade places so that he can have tea with the girls and Lola can play basketball with the boys.

"Poko Plays Basketball" (Poko; Salter Street Films, 2003)
It's a lesson in fair play for Poko when he bends the rules during a game of basketball.

"Basketball Babysitter" (Clifford's Puppy Days; Scholastic Entertainment Inc., 2004)
Evan gets tickets to see his hero, Allan Houston, play basketball, and he's really excited. Emily Elizabeth and Clifford come along, and they strike up a friendship with Allan Houston's daughter, Remie, and her beagle puppy, Hoops. Evan winds up babysitting for Remie and Hoops during the game. He's happy to do it, but he winds up missing most of the game. But he's a good sport about it, and when Allan Houston makes it up to him by playing some one-on-one basketball with him -- it's his dream come true!

"Basketball Blunders" (Clifford's Puppy Days; Scholastic Entertainment, 2006)
Emily Elizabeth and her friends think they have to take it easy when they play the kids on Mr. Solomon's wheelchair basketball team. But by the end of the game, they realize they've misjudged their abilities.

"Basketballs Aweigh!" (Jake And The Never Land Pirates; Walt Disney Studios, 2011)
Izzy sprinkles a pinch of Pixie Dust on the crew's basketball to help Cubby make a shot.