For most sports lovers, attention is rarely paid to the history of how the sport originated. We hardly know who started these highly competitive sports and why they created it. For a game that most times draws huge crowds and generates immeasurable levels of excitement, we never stop to think how the original game was played and how rules have changed over the years. The following list features four physically-demanding sports, their origins and the brains behind its creation

1. Basketball

The art of throwing and bouncing an orange-brown ball with the aim of landing it in a net basket hanging high above gives many people an absolute thrill. It is a popular team sport played around the world, and it requires very high levels of stamina and agility. Basketball was invented in a Springfield College gymnasium in 1891. The brain behind it was a 31-year old Springfield graduate student and instructor, James Naismith. It has been recorded in history that it involved a group of restless college students who were required to partake in indoor activities. The purpose was to burn off excessive energy that had been building up in the students because the football season had come to an end. This is exactly how basketball was created. With this knowledge, whenever you’re watching your next basketball game, spare a thought for James, his students, and the joy they’ve brought into your life through basketball.

2. Snowboarding

Now, this is one sport you cannot engage in without enjoying the thrill of gliding and sliding at top speed. It requires snow, though, and if you’re equipped with the right playing tools and some skill, you could pass for a pro. Snowboarding is an active fun sport that involves riding over the snowboard through a significant volume of snow with only one type of equipment – a snowboard. Today, there are freestyle snowboards you can access to enjoy this sport. Now that you know what it requires, who invented the snowboard? In 1965, a father in Michigan decided to invent a game for his two daughters. Sherman Poppen did this by tying two skis together with a rope on one end. He maintained control as the girls glided down a slope. And this was how modern snowboarding began. 

3. The Pole Vault

This track and field game incorporates the use of a long flexible stick or pole to jump over a high bar. The pole is usually made from carbon fiber or fiberglass. You may have realized that it is one of the flagship field-and-track events during the Olympic games. With this game, it is not known who exactly invented it, but its origin is credited to Germany in 1850 by the gymnastic association. It subsequently moved to England. At the time, poles with iron spikes were used in contests. This was then changed to bamboo poles in 1857. Pole vault also dates back to the 16th century, where it is believed the Ancient Greeks used to practice it as well.

4. Baseball

This game requires a bat and a ball with two opposing teams. Both sides take turns to play during regulation time. The player (normally called the Pitcher) releases the ball while the opposing team’s player aims for it with a bat. It makes the list of extremely competitive sports that requires arm strength, agility, and high-level concentration. There is a little contention with who exactly brought about this loved game. A young man named Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York, is credited with baseball invention in 1839, but there are reports it dates further back. Still dating back to the 18th century, it appears baseball’s most direct ancestors originated from two English games; rounders and cricket. Rounders was a children’s game believed to have been brought to New England by some early colonists. Either way, both stories hold some claim to a sport with committed enthusiasts.