This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Iowa 1893 Exposition Sparks State Basketball Growth
The 1893 Iowa City exhibition between University of Iowa and Cedar Rapids YMCA teams marked basketball’s arrival in Iowa. By 1900 the sport spread to high schools, with a 1912 state tournament in Iowa City signaling formal competition. Through the decades Ottumwa, Davenport, Ames and others dominated, with notable stars like Wally Gaddis and Mike McMichael remembered in the sport’s early era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Iowa
YMCA
University of Iowa
Cedar Rapids
Iowa City
the Palimpsest
Wm. J. Petersen
Harry “G. Burrell
James Naismith
Ymca College
Springfield
Mass
H. F. Kallenberg
Naismith
University Ymca
Kallenberg
G. D Lees
Iowa State High School Athletic Association
Ottumwa
Davenport
Fort Dodge
Peoria
Illinois
Muscatine
Iowa High School Athletic Board
Sioux City
Grundy Center
Wilton Junction
Ames
Boone
Des Moines
Cedar Falls
Mason City
Mites
Diagonal
Paul Moon
Manning
le Mars
Newkirk
Shelby
Dinsdale
Ankeny
St. Mary‘’s
Clinton
East Waterloo
Sioux Center
Roland
Wally Gaddis
Dunkerton
Marcellus
Mike) McMichael
Des Moines Roosevelt
Carl Widseth