What Were the First Backboards for Basketball?

Like most sports, basketball has evolved substantially since its creation by James Naismith in 1891. The National Basketball Association, for instance, currently requires backboards to be made in transparent Plexiglass for official play, measuring 6 feet across and 3 1/2 feet high. Early backboards, by contrast, were not so precisely manufactured.

  1. The Wall

    • Naismith originally called his new game "peach basket" since those were the first baskets he used. He hung them 10 feet from the floor -- the measurement still used in 2011. The peach basket, or an 18-inch-square wooden box, was mounted to either end of a gymnasium. Some were attached to the overhead landings of indoor tracks, or they were hammered onto the walls. Woven wire hoops replaced the baskets within a year, followed in another year by cast iron. But no one thought to reconsider the backboard for another four years.

    Wire Mesh

    • In 1895, backboards made of wire mesh began appearing on basketball courts, along with wire-roped hoops often made of chicken wire. The mesh backboard was not a concept to improve the game, but a defensive measure against fans. People sitting on the overhead landings were interfering with the ball in play. These backboards were still often mounted directly to the walls at either end of gyms. They did not eliminate the injury risk to the actual players who could run into walls while trying to perform basic shots.

    Wood

    • Basketball leagues began to replace wire mesh backboards in 1904 with wooden models, which are still widely used in driveways and schoolyards. Early wooden backboards were mostly mounted directly to a wall too, but were considered an improvement over the wire boards. The smooth surface of the wood did not have the potential to leave cuts on the player's hands like the wire.

    Plate Glass

    • Plate-glass backboards were first used in 1909. These boards were the precursor to fiberglass and Plexiglass models. However, according to the Hoop Tactics website, it wasn't until 1916 that a 2-foot space was required between the backboards and each end line. This provided a small buffer to limit the chance of a player colliding with a wall. This sped up the game considerably since players felt safer when they charged to the basket. Another 2 feet of space was added in 1939.