Front:
29
ORINGFIELD
28
1991
01101
Basketball
Centennial 1991
MA
Back:
BASKETBALL CENTENNIAL
First Day of Issue: August 28, 1991
First Issue Location: Springfield, Massachusetts
Few avid fans of the sport of basketball will forget the
spring of 1991, the year when the heavily-favored Los
Angeles Lakers were crushed in only five games by the
Chicago Bulls. Millions were awed by the Bulls, led by an
indefatigable 28-year-old man named Michael Jeffrey
Jordan, who took the team to its first-ever National
Basketball Association championship. It is somehow ap-
propriate that the Bulls took their first title on the centen-
nial of the sport, a contest which has evolved into one of
America's most popular games and biggest businesses.
One hundred years ago, basketball was far less illustrious.
In 1891, an inspired physical education instructor named
James Naismith introduced the game to his students at the
Young Men's Christian Association Training School in
Springfield, Massachusetts. Almost immediately, the
game became a popular pastime and by 1896, the first
college basketball game was played in lowa. Two years
later, professional basketball was born with the creation
of the National Basketball League.
No. 91-58
©1991 The Maximum Card Collection
A division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
® Original painting for the Maximum Card by Dennis Lyall
