Basketball
at the 1936 Summer Olympics
This was the year of the Berlin Olympics and it
was the first year that basketball became a recognized Olympic sport. In the finals,
the United States' undefeated team beat Canada 19-8 under abysmal conditions.
The contest was played outdoors, on a dirt court in a driving rain. Due to the
quagmire the teams could not dribble and the score was held to a minimum. High
scorer in the game was Joe Fortenbury for the U.S. with 7 points. Also, there
were no seats for spectators and the nearly 1,000 in attendance had to stand in
the rain through the entire game.