The Father Of Basketball Had A High-Scoring Drive; Make Big Points: James Naismith aimed to teach his students about character and developing healthy minds and bodies.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(BEST OF LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN

James Naismith loved sports. But his passion for football drew harsh words from friends and teachers.

Late in the 19th century, the sport that's now America's favorite pastime was brutal. Helmets and shoulder pads weren't around. Fields were crude. Injuries were plentiful. There were also collision deaths.

Baseball was safer. But it was a spring and summer sport. So as a young instructor working at a YMCA in 1891, Naismith saw a gap between that sport and cold-weather football. He set out to come up with a less violent game.

The result was basketball, a sport he originally designed to avoid physical contact. Yet he remained humble about his creation. "If someone could ask Dr. Naismith today what was the most important thing he accomplished, he'd probably say that his personal impact on helping students and improving their lives was it," said Angela Lumpkin, dean of the school of education at the University of Kansas.

Lumpkin and other top college sports educators say his influence continues to be felt. "The guy was really a renaissance man," said Michael Brooslin, curator of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The hall serves as the main awards center for college and professional basketball. It was started in 1959 in the town where Naismith invented the sport, Springfield, Mass.