Post by eric on Feb 22, 2016 11:48:01 GMT -6
A common topic of discussion in today's NBA is whether the rules should be changed so Hack A Shaq Dwight Drummy The Bear will go away, and a common response is that the rules shouldn't be changed, the players should change: Make Your Free Throws. I thought it would be interesting to look at the history of basketball to see how we got to the rules we have. This is not even a full list, there were some other weird wrinkles like three chances to make two free throws, two to make one on an and-one, clear path, yadda yadda yadda. There's also a big gray area between the original rules and the NBA because there was no lasting professional league.
Original Rules
Basketball is made in 1891 with thirteen rules. Those relevant to fouling:
1. The second physical foul puts you on the bench until the next goal.
2. If that foul is extreme, you will get sent off and your team cannot substitute for you.
3. If a team fouls three times in a row without the other team fouling, the other team gets an automatic score.
In 1894 free throws were introduced at 21' (or possibly 20'), moved in to the current 15' in 1895, and field goals were counted as two points in 1896.
1906 or possibly earlier codified the distinction of physical fouls. It doesn't look like the soccer-style man down provision or the hockey-style penalty box survived, but two big fouls still DQed you. Fouled on a miss gave your team one automatic point and one free throw attempt. Fouled on a make gave you the basket, one automatic point, and one free throw attempt.
1916 the rules unify between YMCA, AAU, and "college" (NCAA?). Fouls are further distinguished into violations and technical and personal fouls, and you get four personal fouls before DQ. Fouls on shots now award two free throw attempts instead of auto/attempt.
1924 the player fouled had to take the free throws instead of whoever you wanted on your team.
.
Let's pause briefly here. People want to talk about the fundamentals of basketball, how basketball shouldn't change. For thirty years the rules of basketball said that you could have anyone you wanted take free throw attempts, and for much of that period teams would get automatic points when fouled. Either one of those rules would completely stop the intentional foul strategy, and you really can't get more fundamental basketball than Dr. James Naismith.
.
1940 teams can choose to take the ball out of bounds instead of taking a free throw. Note that that says a free throw. If your guy is fouled on a miss, you could have him take one free throw and then inbound the ball!. Of course this was before the shot clock, so the obvious result was that a team would get a lead in the last time period, stall, and always win, so the rule was taken out in 1953 (not sure if it was ever alive in the pros).
Speaking of, we're going to switch to the pros because that's what matters but college took some other really wacky roads you can read in the link above. The BAA (proto-NBA) increased the foul limit in 1948 to six fouls. Almost immediately they too started making rules to eliminate late game fouling, and almost immediately they see-sawed back and forth.
1951: any free throw in the last three minutes is followed by a jump ball between the free throw shooter and the fouler instead of the fouler's team getting the ball.
1953: now the jump ball is between the shooter and the man guarding him, so you can use up little guys' fouls to hack (again).
1954: okay but now if a single player fouls three times in one quarter he has to sit until the next quarter.
1954: but nothing changed so nevermind that rule
1955: alright now players get a penalty (or "bonus") free throw for the sixth+ foul in a quarter, before that you'd only get one free throw attempt on non shooting fouls.
1967: and the last major change, the limit is reduced to the current five fouls AND in the last two minutes a limit of two.
.
.
Bottom line: for the first 75 years of its existence, basketball could hardly go a decade without creating a rule regarding intentional fouling, a period significantly longer than the period since. People who were born after 1967 think the rules were always pretty much this way - not true. Every person who has ever made a game has found that players can abuse the rules, and taken steps to rectify this. The point of calling it a "foul" is that you should be punished for doing it. If we have to change the rules for the fifteenth time, so be it. If Doc Naismith had wanted to write his rules in stone he would have, and we still wouldn't be allowed to dribble.
Original Rules
Basketball is made in 1891 with thirteen rules. Those relevant to fouling:
1. The second physical foul puts you on the bench until the next goal.
2. If that foul is extreme, you will get sent off and your team cannot substitute for you.
3. If a team fouls three times in a row without the other team fouling, the other team gets an automatic score.
In 1894 free throws were introduced at 21' (or possibly 20'), moved in to the current 15' in 1895, and field goals were counted as two points in 1896.
1906 or possibly earlier codified the distinction of physical fouls. It doesn't look like the soccer-style man down provision or the hockey-style penalty box survived, but two big fouls still DQed you. Fouled on a miss gave your team one automatic point and one free throw attempt. Fouled on a make gave you the basket, one automatic point, and one free throw attempt.
1916 the rules unify between YMCA, AAU, and "college" (NCAA?). Fouls are further distinguished into violations and technical and personal fouls, and you get four personal fouls before DQ. Fouls on shots now award two free throw attempts instead of auto/attempt.
1924 the player fouled had to take the free throws instead of whoever you wanted on your team.
.
Let's pause briefly here. People want to talk about the fundamentals of basketball, how basketball shouldn't change. For thirty years the rules of basketball said that you could have anyone you wanted take free throw attempts, and for much of that period teams would get automatic points when fouled. Either one of those rules would completely stop the intentional foul strategy, and you really can't get more fundamental basketball than Dr. James Naismith.
.
1940 teams can choose to take the ball out of bounds instead of taking a free throw. Note that that says a free throw. If your guy is fouled on a miss, you could have him take one free throw and then inbound the ball!. Of course this was before the shot clock, so the obvious result was that a team would get a lead in the last time period, stall, and always win, so the rule was taken out in 1953 (not sure if it was ever alive in the pros).
Speaking of, we're going to switch to the pros because that's what matters but college took some other really wacky roads you can read in the link above. The BAA (proto-NBA) increased the foul limit in 1948 to six fouls. Almost immediately they too started making rules to eliminate late game fouling, and almost immediately they see-sawed back and forth.
1951: any free throw in the last three minutes is followed by a jump ball between the free throw shooter and the fouler instead of the fouler's team getting the ball.
1953: now the jump ball is between the shooter and the man guarding him, so you can use up little guys' fouls to hack (again).
1954: okay but now if a single player fouls three times in one quarter he has to sit until the next quarter.
1954: but nothing changed so nevermind that rule
1955: alright now players get a penalty (or "bonus") free throw for the sixth+ foul in a quarter, before that you'd only get one free throw attempt on non shooting fouls.
1967: and the last major change, the limit is reduced to the current five fouls AND in the last two minutes a limit of two.
.
.
Bottom line: for the first 75 years of its existence, basketball could hardly go a decade without creating a rule regarding intentional fouling, a period significantly longer than the period since. People who were born after 1967 think the rules were always pretty much this way - not true. Every person who has ever made a game has found that players can abuse the rules, and taken steps to rectify this. The point of calling it a "foul" is that you should be punished for doing it. If we have to change the rules for the fifteenth time, so be it. If Doc Naismith had wanted to write his rules in stone he would have, and we still wouldn't be allowed to dribble.
