Basketball in the National Archives
Every March even casual sports fans become obsessed with brackets, Cinderella stories, and buzzer-beating plays. But basketball is more than March Madness, Dream Teams, and legendary players that seemingly defy the laws of gravity to fly through the air. Not everyone makes it to the Big Dance, but almost anyone with a ball and a hoop can shoot their shot at the nearest schoolyard, driveway, or court.
From patents to Presidents to pick-up games, records related to basketball can be found in the National Archives Catalog.
Dr. James Naismith (second row, wearing a suit), a Springfield College instructor and basketball’s inventor, is pictured with his “First Team” circa 1891. Records of the U.S. Information Agency. View in the National Archives Catalog.
The printed patent drawing for a basket ball goal invented by Bert Kennedy and filed on December 14, 1923. Records of the Patent and Trademark Office. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Girls basketball team, South Dakota, circa 1926-1956. Records of the Bureau of Indians Affairs. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Intramural boys basketball team, South Dakota, circa 1926-1954. Records of the Bureau of Indians Affairs View in the National Archives Catalog.
Army basketball team members, circa 1933. Records of the U.S. Military Academy. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Team photograph of the Bureau of Reclamation ladies basketball team, February 17, 1936. Records of the Bureau of Reclamation. View in the National Archives Catalog.
After school basketball game, Talpa, NM, December 1941. Photo by Irving Rusinow. Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Ronald Reagan in a U.S. Army Air Force Basketball Team group photograph, 1943. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Women's Army Corps basketball championship game, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA, March 15, 1944. Records of the Office of the Chief of Transportation. View in the National Archives Catalog.
U.S. Navy pilots aboard USS Monterey (CVL-26) play basketball in the forward elevator well, circa June 1944. The jumper on the left has been identified as Gerald Ford. Photo by Victor Jorgensen. General Records of the Department of the Navy. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Practice match between the Philippines and Brazil men's basketball teams at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, October 11, 1968. Records of the U.S. Information Agency. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Children play backyard basketball in Charleston, WV, July 1973. Photo by Harry Schaefer. Records of the Environmental Protection Agency. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Poster of Smokey Bear and the Los Angeles Lakers, 1985. Records of the Forest Service. View in the National Archives Catalog.
President Bill Clinton plays basketball with Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and neighborhood boys at "The Playground" basketball court and shoe store in Los Angeles, May 18, 1993. Photo by Barbara Kinney. William J. Clinton Presidential Library. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Harlem Globetrotter Herbert "Flight Time" Lang attempts a basket by taking a trick shot off the back of his neck in front of teammate Paul "Showtime" Gaffney and the audience at Fort Hood, TX on January 31, 2001. Photo by John Byerly. Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. View in the National Archives Catalog.
The Armed Forces Women's Basketball Championship, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, VA, April 26, 2001. Photo by TSgt. Stephen Faulisi. Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. View in the National Archives Catalog.
The final game of the United States Air Force Europe large unit basketball tournament in Kaiserslautern, Germany, March 31, 2002. Photo by SSgt. Jocelyn M. Broussard. Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. View in the National Archives Catalog.
The U.S. Air Force Academy faces University of Nevada-Las Vegas at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on February 26, 2005. Photo by MSgt. Robert W. Valenca. Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Department of Housing and Urban Development–sponsored wheelchair basketball game to promote disability awareness, outside HUD Headquarters in Washington, DC, on October 9, 2008. Photo by Ricardo Vargas. General Records of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. View in the National Archives Catalog.
President Obama's NCAA men's college basketball tournament bracket filled in with his picks, March 2015. Barack Obama Presidential Library. View in the National Archives Catalog.
President Barack Obama takes a shot during a game with Cabinet secretaries and members of Congress on the White House basketball court on October 8, 2009. Barack Obama Presidential Library. View in the National Archives Catalog.
Learn more about the basketball-related holdings at the National Archives:
- National Archives News: March Madness Comes to the National Archives (2023)
- The Text Message: Foul Shot: William Sharman v. C. Schmidt & Sons (2022)
- Rediscovering Black History: Basketball Legend and Civil Rights Champion: A Tribute to Bill Russell (2022)
- The Unwritten Record: Gov and Basketball (2022)
- YouTube: Spinning the Globe: The History and Legacy of the Harlem Globetrotters (2021)
- Rediscovering Black History: Larry Doby: A Life of Firsts and Seconds (2021)
- The Unwritten Record: Images of the Week: Basketball and Hockey (2014)
- Prologue: BIG! Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the National Archives (2008)