BASKETBALL ONCE WAS PLAYED IN A WIRE ‘CAGE’

Q Why is a basketball player referred to as a "cager"? It makes no sense to me. – S.R., Smithfield.

AThe term dates back to the days of the father of basketball, James Naismith. According to Naismiths’ rules, when the ball went out of bounds, the first player who got it could throw it back in, which sometimes had players wrestling together as they tried to gain access to the ball.

In 1896, the first acknowledged professional basketball players played in a social hall enclosed in a 12-foot-high wire mesh fence. The cage was set up along the sidelines and endlines, so there really wasn't an "out-of-bounds" area, and spectators were safe from players fighting over the ball.

By 1902 the out-of-bound rule was changed to eliminate player scrimmages, but the early pros were used to playing in the cage. They thought the game was more exciting with the ball and players bouncing against the sides. In the 1920s, it was considered fair play to drive a man with the ball into the wire mesh when he was shooting.

By 1940 nearly all professional games were played in high school or college gymnasiums, and amateur rules (which didn't allow the cage) were adopted.

These two events spelled the end of the cage as a part of the sport of basketball.

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