After 18 college football players were killed during games in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt personally intervened and demanded that the rules of the game be reformed to make the game safer. One of the changes was to make the forward pass a legal play

The game of basketball as it is known today was created by Dr. James Naismith in December 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, to condition young athletes during cold months

Prior to 1923, basketball teams could choose which player would shoot a free throw after a foul

For nine years following 1966, slam dunks were illegal

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team

The initial rules for basketball did not include dribbling. The ball could only be advanced down the court by passing