Introduction: History of Basketball in Brazil
Dicas Educação Física has prepared for you a summary of the Origin and History of Basketball in Brazil. We’ll explain how Basketball arrived in Brazil, who brought Basketball to Brazil, where it began to be practiced and its development.
The Origin of Basketball in Brazil
The history of basketball in Brazil began with the American professor Augusto Shaw, who came to Brazil in 1896 to teach art at the Mackenzie College in São Paulo.
Shaw brought with him a basketball, a sport that had been created years earlier, in 1891, by James Naismith.
The First Basketballers in Brazil
In the beginning, women were the ones who most identified with and practiced Basketball, which led to a macho resistance and men ended up opting for Football. But soon basketball also became popular with men and Augusto Shaw sent a photo of the first basketball team to the United States.
In 1912, at the Associação Cristã de Moços – ACM, in Rio de Janeiro, he also started practicing basketball.
The First Basketball Tournament in Brazil
The first basketball tournament in Brazil took place in 1915, promoted by the ACM in Rio de Janeiro.
The participants in the first basketball tournament in Brazil were Clube Internacional de Regatas, Colégio Silvio Leite, Clube Ginástico Português, Corpo de Marinheiros Nacionais, América Futebol Clube and ACM, which was the champion.
First Brazilian Basketball Championship
The first Brazilian Basketball Championship was held in 1925 – with just two teams – Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and the same happened in 1926 and 1927.
In 1928, the first Brazilian Championship was held, promoted by the Brazilian Sports Confederation – CBD – with four competing teams (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul).
In 1940, the first Brazilian Women’s Basketball Championship was held in Rio de Janeiro. The team from São Paulo was the champion.
The First Brazilian Basketball Team
In 1922, a Brazilian basketball team was called up for the first time to compete in a tournament with the Uruguayan and Argentinian teams, in which Brazil won.
In 1930, the Brazilian basketball team took part in the first South American Basketball Championship in Montevideo, Uruguay.
In 1936, the Brazilian men’s basketball team took part in the Berlin Olympics and came ninth.
Creation of the Brazilian Basketball Federation
On December 25, 1933, the Brazilian Basketball Federation (CBB) was created. In 1941, a meeting approved the change of name to the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (CBB).
Titles in the History of Brazilian Basketball
- In 1948, the Brazilian men’s team won a Bronze medal at the London Olympics.
- In 1959, the Brazilian men’s team won the World Basketball Championship.
- In 1960, in Rome, another Bronze medal for the men’s team.
- In 1963, the boys from Brazil won the World Cup twice.
- In 1964, another bronze medal for the Brazilian men’s team at the Tokyo Olympics.
- In 1971, the WOMEN’S team won third place in the World Basketball Championship held in Brazil.
- In 1987, the men’s team beat the United States in the Pan American Basketball Championship.
- In 1991, Brazil’s girls won the Pan American Championship in Havana.
- The historic Pan American title for the Brazilian Women’s Basketball Team in Havana
- In 1994, Brazilian women’s basketball became world champions. An epic moment in the history of Brazilian basketball.
- In 1996 the girls won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
- In 2000, the girls again won a Bronze medal for Brazil at the Sydney Olympic Games.
About Augusto Shaw
Augusto Shaw lived in Brazil until 1914 and was able to follow much of the spread of basketball in Brazil. He died in 1939 in the United States.
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