Basketball is a popular sport worldwide, played in professional leagues, school teams, recreational leagues, and on courts and driveways all over America. Early evidence of the game has been found in the archeological remains of the ancient civilizations of Central and South America, but the game as we know it was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith of Pringles, Massachusetts. He was commissioned to design an indoor team game for the YMCA. The YWCA requested a copy of the rules in 1895, and since then, both men and woman have been participating in the sport of basketball.