Of regional interest, a recording of the voice of the inventor of basketball has been discovered, reports Kansas Public Radio. A University of Kansas researcher uncovered the rare audio recording of Dr. James Naismith, talking about the very game he invented.
The 1939 radio interview is believed to be the only known recording of Naismith speaking. While researching a book, KU Associate Professor Michael Zogry found references to the early radio interview. The audio comes from a broadcast of the New York radio program We the People. In the interview, Naismith talks about setting up the first basketball game in Massachusetts in 1891. The recording is roughly three minutes long, and sheds new light on the creative process that led Naismith to draft the 13 original rules. Naismith moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1898 and became the first basketball coach at the University of Kansas.