History
The concept of a foul goes back to the very beginning of basketball in 1891, when in his original 13 rules, James Naismith defined a foul as:
- running with the ball,
- holding the ball with the arms or body,
- striking the ball with the fist,
- shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent.
Only the fourth definition remains. Running with the ball and striking it with the fist have since become violations; and holding the ball with the arms or body is no longer prohibited, though players rarely do so anyway.
The original penalty was that on a player's second foul, he would be disqualified until the next successful goal without substitution (similar to a penalty in ice hockey). Before long, free throws were introduced, originally worth three points each, then becoming one. Originally any team member was allowed to shoot free throws. In 1924, the rules were changed so that the fouled player was made to shoot his own free throws.
Read more about this topic: Personal Foul (basketball)
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