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Indiana man credited with "inventing" the 3-point shot in the '30s

Started by jbcarol, February 22, 2017, 07:18:08 am

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jbcarol

https://twitter.com/GrantRamey/status/834205396193726464

QuoteHerman Sayger died in 1970. He was 75. Sayger counted legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne among his many friends, along with famous athletes like Red Grange, Tris Speaker and Jim Thorpe. Sayger grew up in Culver, Ind., where he was one of the state's first high school basketball stars. As a junior, Sayger scored 113 points in a game against Winamac, a state record that still stands.

In March of 1932 — 35 years before the 3-pointer was popularized by the American Basketball Association and 47 years before it was adopted by the NBA — Sayger put on an exhibition game between Tiffin Junior Home and Tiffin Columbian, a pair of high school teams.

Under Sayger's rules, a shot from beyond 25 feet was worth three points and a shot inside of 15 feet worth one point. Anything in between counted for the traditional two points.

Sayger also eliminated the jump ball after each basket, which was the rule of the time. In his opinion, basketball was a game dominated by height instead of skill.

The Tiffin Advertiser previewed the game on March 14, 1932, under the headline: "The Runt Gets a Chance to Show In New Type of Game at Heidelberg."

From the story:

"Sayger believes the lessening of the use of the pump (jump) will speed up the game and do away with the 'stalling' which is now regarded as one of the game's principal sins. ... As coach at Heidelberg, he often lamented his forced failure to put 'little fellows' in the lineup and used physical giants when they were available."

The story from the Defiance (Ohio) Crescent-News on March 19, 1932, appeared less receptive to Sayger's ideas:

"A new scoring method for basketball has been devised by Herman E. Sayger, former coach of Heidelberg college here, to reward the athlete with the accurate eye for long shots.

"The longer the shot, the more the basket counts under Sayger's system, which consequently would lessen the value of close-up flings at the hoop.

"In another effort to cut down tall and not much else, Sayger would have the tip-off abolished at the start of play."

The headline from the Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune on March 21, 1932, read: "New Style of Basketball Said to Work."

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DeltaBoy

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