Baseball and football are thought of as quintessential American sports, but both were based on older European games. Basketball, however, is a truly American invention (even if developed by a Canadian). In December 1891, James Naismith, a Canadian phys-ed instructor in Springfield, Massachusetts devised the 13 basic rules of the game. The first game was played with two teams of nine, and used two peach baskets nailed to the gym balcony. Although the basic rules have not changed significantly since then, initially, dribbling was not allowed and the backboard and nets were not introduced until 1906.