Springfield, Massachusetts is celebrated as the birthplace of basketball, but Philly is where the sport’s first professional league tipped off, and that will be the next “first” celebrated this weekend as part of the Philadelphia Historic District’s “52 Weeks of Firsts.”
In 1898, the National Basketball League was created and the first game between the Hancock Athletic Association and the Trenton Nationals took place soon after in Kensington. This came seven years after Dr. James Naismith came up with the original 13 rules for the new indoor sport, and over 50 years before today’s National Basketball Association was formed, in a merger between the Basketball Association of America and a future iteration of the NBL — the first one folded by 1904, with no Philly team ever winning it.
“The mechanics of the game have changed. We no longer use peach baskets, there’s no longer wire cages, but the grit and the passion are still there,” said Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson, Vice President of Civic Affairs for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Before the Sixers take on the New York Knicks at 3 p.m. Saturday, the organization will host the next of the Historic District’s Saturday “Firstival” series at the Xfinity Mobile Arena from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free public event is part of a series that kick off each “first’ week, with storytelling from Historic Philly’s Once Upon a Nation and activities.
Previous “firsts” so far have been the first successful balloon flight in America, the Mummers Parade as the nation’s first folk parade, and the nation’s first volunteer fire company.
Each “first” also has its own No. 1 statue, painted by 25 local artists selected by Mural Arts Philadelphia.
Artist Daniel Lipchutz was assigned the first basketball league statue, as well as two others. He said this week’s project stirred up a lot for him.
“I wanted to be a basketball player before I ever dreamed of being an artist. So it’s really helping me tap back into my inner child,” Lipchutz said. “To be able to make a living as an artist in a city that supports that is really special and something I don’t take for granted, and to be able to now weave that back into sports and community in a way, that’s really impactful.”
The 5-feet-tall, high-density foam statues are all around the city — near the site of their respective “firstival” — and have an accompanying photo competition through the “52 Weeks of Firsts” Instagram account.
Next week, the Xfinity Mobile Arena will host two back-to-back games of Unrivaled Basketball, the popular 3v3 professional women’s league. For Philly basketball fans this offers a sample of what’s to come in 2030 when Philly gets a WNBA franchise, co-owned by Sixers ownership group.
Corbin-Johnson said the Sixers are proud to help celebrate Philadelphia’s role in basketball history this year, while it prepares to help add to it in the coming years.
“People have always said Philadelphia is a sports city and I think this goes to show, with the NBL being created here to now getting a women’s sports team to come, we’re looking forward to the future of basketball. It’s going to be even brighter,” she said.
In the coming weeks
Here is the complete list of other firsts being highlighted this year, along with the upcoming Saturday “firstival” dates and locations.
The first:
Completed
Week 1: Successful balloon flight in America (1793)
Week 2: The Mummers parade, the nation’s first folk parade (1901)
Week 3: Volunteer fire company (1736)
Upcoming
Professional basketball league (1898)
Jan. 24, Xfinity Mobile Arena, 3601 S. Broad St.
Public Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)
Jan. 31, PECO Building, 2301 Market St.
African Methodist Episcopal congregation (1794)
Feb. 7, Mother Bethel AME Church, 419 S. 6th St.
Abolitionist society in America (1775)
Feb. 14, African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch St.
Authentic Chinese gate built in America (1984)
Feb. 21, Crane Building, 1400 N. American St.
Public protest against slavery in America (1688)
Feb. 28, Historic Germantown Mennonite Meetinghouse, 6119 Germantown Ave.
Flower Show (1829)
March 7, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch St.
Women’s medical college (1850)
March 14, Health Sciences Building, Drexel University, 60 N. 36th St.
Match folder (1892)
March 21, Science History Institute, 315 Chestnut St.
The first medical school in America (1765)
March 28, Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Civic Center Blvd.
Stadium in America (1895)
April 4, Franklin Field, 235 S. 33rd St.
Circus performance in America (1793)
April 11, Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, 6452 Greene St.
Botanical garden (1728)
April 18, Bartram’s Garden, 5400 Lindbergh Blvd.
Postmaster (1737)
April 25, Franklin Court, 322 Market St.
American-made piano and sousaphone (1775 and 1893)
May 2, Ensemble Arts Philly, 300 S. Broad St.
Mother’s Day (1908)
May 9, Historic St. George’s Museum & Archives, 326 New St.
Hospital in America (1751)
May 16, Pennsylvania Hospital, 800 Spruce St.
World’s Fair on American soil (1876)
May 23, Please Touch Museum, 4231 Avenue of the Republic
Steamboat for passengers and freight (1787)
May 30, Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd.
American flag (1777)
June 6, Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch St.
U.S. Army (1775)
June 13, Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. 3rd St.
Annual Reminder demonstration (1965)
June 20, Philly Pride Visitor Center, Lombard St. and S. 12th St.
Paper maker in America (1690)
June 27, Rittenhouse Town, 6034 Wissahickon Ave.
Bank of the United States (1791)
July 4, First Bank of the United States, 120 S. 3rd St.
Organized baseball team (1831)
July 11 (location TBD)
Ice cream soda (Oct. 1874)
July 18, Franklin Fountain, 116 Market St.
American art school (1805)
July 25, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118-128 N. Broad St.
Scientific Society of Natural History (1812)
Aug. 1, at Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Zoo in America (1874)
Aug. 8, Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave.
U.S. Mint (1793)
Aug. 15 (location TBD)
Selfie (1839)
Aug. 22, Love Park, 1501 John F Kennedy Blvd.
Slinky (1943)
Aug. 29, Philadelphia Art Museum, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Signing of the Constitution (1787)
Sept. 5, National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.
Continental Congress (1774)
Sept. 12 at Carpenters’ Hall, 320 Chestnut St.
Naming of the United States (1776)
Sept. 19, Independence Hall
Ronald McDonald House (1974)
Sept. 26, Ronald McDonald House, 3925 Chestnut St.
Penitentiary in America (1829)
Oct. 3, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave.
The First Peoples
Oct. 10, Penn Museum, 3260 South St.
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775)
Oct. 17, Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St.
Public showing of a motion picture (1870)
Oct. 24, Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St.
Modern detective story written (1841)
Oct. 31, Edgar Allan Poe House, 532 N. 7th St.
Thanksgiving Day parade in America (1920)
Nov. 7, Benjamin Franklin Parkway
University in America (1740)
Nov. 14, Houston Hall, The University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St.
Children’s hospital in America (1855)
Nov. 21, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Building, 3401 Civic Center Blvd.
Pencil with an attached eraser (1858)
Nov. 28, National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.
Weather bureau (1870)
Dec. 5, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St.
Electronic computer (1945)
Dec. 12, The University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St.
Public lending library in America (1731)
Dec. 19, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St.
Philly food firsts: Cheesesteaks (1930s), water ice (1932) and bubble gum (1928)
Dec. 26, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St.
