1894 YMCA Official Basketball Rule Book - One of the Earliest Basketball Rule Books Known!

Sold For:

$1,560

Year:

1894

Auction:

2019 Fall

Lot #:

2682

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Extremely early basketball rule book published in 1894 by the YMCA. This is the earliest basketball rule book we have ever seen and we cannot imagine that there are many examples that predate it, especially given that Dr. James Naismith invented the game only three years earlier, in 1891. The fact that a rule book was published in 1894 shows just how popular the game had become in those three short years. The soft-cover booklet is titled Official Rules and Score Blanks for Basket Ball and was published by the International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations (New York, 1894). The 20-page booklet includes the rules, plus 10 blank score sheets. The final page features an advertisement for a special medal issued by the YMCA for its athletic events. The booklet (3.75 x 6.75 inches) displays partial separation along the spine, but both covers remain attached. moderate staining affects both covers and each of the pages. A small area of burning affects the spine and there is a tiny tear on the front cover. The name of a former owner appears in vintage black fountain pen along the top of the front cover. Despite its flaws, the book is intact as issued and remains a historically important relic relating to the birth of basketball. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open).