SPRINGFIELD — Every sport has its hub, that one city it’s synonymous with, where visitors from all over the world make a pilgrimage to learn about its origins, soak in its history, and reminisce. Football has Canton, Ohio. Baseball has Cooperstown, N.Y. And basketball has Springfield, home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum.
The sprawling museum, in its current building since 2002, is the premier destination for both local and international fans of basketball, one of the world’s most popular sports and a product of Springfield. According to Jason Fiddler, the Hall’s vice president of sales, marketing, and operations, 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame each year, making it one of the state’s top attractions.
In 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a teacher at Springfield’s YMCA International Training School, invented basketball as an active game for students to play when the weather turned cold. While the first game was primitive (the original fruit baskets Naismith hung had bottoms on them so a janitor had to retrieve the ball with a ladder after each made basket), the game took hold locally, and in the 125 years since, it has expanded to become an international obsession and American winter tradition.
The Hall preserves history from all eras of basketball on three floors surrounding a basketball court that serves as the museum’s centerpiece. Working from the top down, visitors traverse exhibits about the game’s quirky stories, individual contributors, and great teams. The top floor is surrounded by a halo of portraits of the Hall’s 361 inductees, and below that is a timeline with their biographies, with some great artifacts, including Charles Barkley’s gold medal from the 1992 Olympics and thick socks belonging to college basketball legend “Pistol Pete’’ Maravich.
According to Fiddler, the summer is the Hall’s busiest season, and that leads into the annual Enshrinement Weekend in September, when figures from throughout the game descend on Springfield to welcome a new class of honorees.
“With each induction class, not only do a new set of individuals become members of the Hall of Fame, but a new set of artifacts accompanies them,’’ he says. “Many guests make the Hall of Fame an annual trip just to see the new class each year.’’
The second floor is where the most significant memorabilia and fascinating attractions are located. In a gallery dubbed “The Game,’’ Naismith’s original handwritten rules are on display. In the same room, examples of old wool jerseys and other equipment from basketball’s earliest days are displayed, along with the leather-paneled soccer balls used before basketballs existed.
In a nearby gallery sits one of the Hall’s most treasured pieces: the jersey Philadelphia Warriors legend Wilt Chamberlain wore when he scored 100 points against the New York Knicks in 1962. Elsewhere sits Shaquille O’Neal’s giant shoe, Christian Laettner’s Duke jersey from the 1991 NCAA Tournament, and Magic Johnson’s jersey from the 1992 All Star Game. The most impressive gallery is dedicated to the game’s great teams, with displays dedicated to the Detroit Pistons, UCLA Bruins, Duke Blue Devils, and Boston Celtics (of course).
Interactive exhibits also dot the second floor. Visitors can record their own version of famous radio calls from basketball’s past, play a virtual game against NBA players, and measure their height against current and former stars. In an exhibit in the form of a locker room dedicated to coaching, fans can open lockers to access charts depicting famous plays. In the Media Gallery, guests can record their own sports update while sitting at an anchor desk. The Hall also offers basketball-related programming for young fans — there was a trick dribbling demonstration during a recent visit.
Springfield still serves as the game’s home. The annual Hoophall Classic brings top high school teams from across the country to Springfield College’s campus, and beginning this year, Massachusetts State Championship games will be held in the city as well.
Fiddler says he gets his greatest thrills when multiple generations visit the Hall.
“It’s special to hear the stories passed down of “when I used to play’’ or “I visited the original Hall of Fame,’’ or when a youngster asks their parents or grandparents who Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell are and the parents have to explain that there were great players before LeBron or Kobe or Michael,’’ he says. “Those are the stories that I always stop and listen to.’’
The final stop is the full-size basketball court, where visitors can shoot on replicas of every basket from the sport’s history. With a high volume of guests, however, the bottom of the original basket has thankfully already been cut out.
NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME 1000 Hall of Fame Ave., Springfield, 877-446-6752, www.hoophall.com
Jon Mael can be reached at jmael2014@gmail.com
