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Photo of Luther Gulick

Luther H. Gulick

In the winter of 1891, Luther Gulick, the head of the physical education department at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, persuaded a young instructor named James Naismith to create an indoor game that could be played during the winter between football and baseball seasons. A major force in the early development of basketball, Gulick oversaw Naismith’s creation of the game, led basketball’s move to the national and international level, and in 1895 became the chairman of the Basketball Rules Organization. Among his other achievements, Gulick developed the YMCA triangle symbol (signifying the YMCA’s physical, emotional, and intellectual pursuits that still remain today), served on the Olympic Committee for the London Games in 1908, and is credited with forming such notable youth organizations as the Public School Athletic Leagues in New York, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Camp Fire Girls. He served as Head of Physical Education at School for Christian Workers from 1887 to 1900 and Chairman of the AAU Basketball Committee from 1895 to 1905. 

Enshrined

1959

Born

December 04, 1865 Honolulu, HI

Died

August 13, 1918

Contributor Stats

1897-1900 HEAD OF PHYSICAL
EDUCATION AT SCHOOL FOR
CHRISTIAN WORKERS
1895-1905 CHAIRMAN, AAU
BASKETBALL COMMITTEE
DEVELOPED THE TRIANGULAR
YMCA SYMBOL
SERVED ON THE 1908 OLYMPIC
COMMITTEE
LED BASKETBALLS MOVE TO THE
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
LEVEL
1891 ASKED JAMES NAISMITH
TO INVENT A NEW GAME