history of the sport

Dr. James Naismith invents the game of basketball, to be played with peach baskets and a soccer ball.			---		1891			Naismith
		1894			---	Naismith asks A.G. Spalding & Bros. to develop the first basketball.
Laces were removed from Spalding basketballs.			---		1937
		1970			---	The official NBA ball moves from four panels to eight.
Bird & Magic	Spalding's full-grain leather ball became the official ball of the National Basketball Association, dribbled by the likes of young Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.		---		1983
		1997			---	Spalding developed the oatmeal and orange game ball used by the WNBA. The official ball featured Spalding's ZK Microfiber Composite cover.
MJ sinks the Jazz	June 14: Michael Jordan's game-winner, sending him to a sixth title and second retirement, is only two of the more-than-five-million points scored -- in more than 25,000 regular season games -- with a Spalding basketball.		---		1998
		2001			---	Spalding develops the official NBA Development Leagueball, Spalding's Infusion, featuring a built-in pump.
	Feb. 17: At NBA All-Star 2006, Joseph Odiahambo dribbles the Spalding NeverFlat for more than 26 hours to set a Guinness World Record.		---		2006
					---	June 28: Spalding and the NBA introduce the new official game ball with Cross Traxxion™ technology.
Oct. 31: To coincide with the 2006-07 season, the new ball will be available for purchase at the NBA Store,NBAStore.com and major sporting goods stores. Fans can reserve a new ball now at NBAStore.com for delivery at the start of the season.			---