First public basketball game at Wayland Academy, c. 1913-1925
Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
Photograph by Eugene A. Turner Jr.
Courtesy of the Kautz Family YMCA Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, ymca10693 p1243
YMCA’s Shanghai Association basketball team, 1919
Shanghai
Courtesy of the Kautz Family YMCA Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, ya000409
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA, Jidujiao qingnianhui) introduced basketball in China as early as 1895 – four years after the sport was invented in Springfield, Massachusetts. In a testament to its growing popularity in China, the YMCA’s 1918 annual report stated, “The basketball referee’s whistle may be heard from north to south and east to west.” Over 1,000 people accepted invitations from Wayland Academy, which later became the highly respected Hangzhou No. 2 High School, to watch its first public basketball game.