This week I was honored to join the WW1 Centennial News Podcast to look at one of the great American institutions impacted by the war: basketball.
When did the sport first develop, who played it, and how did it spread to France? Why was basketball stigmatized during its early years? How did the arrival of YMCA foyers in France as early as 1915 and U.S. Doughboys in 1917 change perceptions? Which institutions helped to spread the "cool" game in the post-war era? And where is basketball on the French cultural radar today?
Listen to my basketball chat, which starts around the 27-minute mark. And check out the US World War One Centennial Commission website and learn how the war and its legacies still impact our world today.
