How tall is James Naismith?

James Naismith's listed height was 179 cm (5'10"). He was taller than about 88% of men in Canada.

Where 179 cm sits among men in Canada

Taller than about 88% of men in Canada born in 1861 (average 170.7 cm).

About James Naismith

James Naismith was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain and sports coach, best known as the inventor of basketball. He was born on 6 November 1861 in Almonte and died on 28 November 1939.

Naismith studied and taught physical education at McGill University in Montreal until 1890, then moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he designed basketball in 1891 while teaching at the International YMCA Training School. He wrote the original rule book and received his medical degree in Denver in 1898. That year he arrived at the University of Kansas, where he founded the basketball program and later became athletic director and coach. He coached Phog Allen, who went on to coach Kansas for 39 seasons. Naismith lived to see basketball become an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and an official event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Naismith stood a listed 179 cm (5'10").

Frequently asked

How tall is James Naismith in feet and inches? James Naismith was 5'10" tall, which is 179 cm, 70.5 inches or 1.79 m.

Is James Naismith tall for men in Canada? At 179 cm he was taller than about 88% of men in Canada born in 1861, whose average height is 170.7 cm.

Sources

Heights are as publicly listed, rounded to the nearest centimetre; listed heights for public figures are often self-reported. Biographical details adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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