M1901

Basketball

100th Anniversary

Winter 2026 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 19 M1901 — Basketball Centennial — 8/28/91

Wanting to create a physically challenging game that could be played indoors during all seasons and in all weather conditions, a college professor nailed up a peach basket at each end of a school gymnasium. That was more than 100 years ago in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Dr. James Naismith had invented the game of basketball. My hand-painted cachet pays tribute to this founder and presents a large oval portrait of Dr. Naismith holding a basketball. The cachet further shows three early enthusiasts of the 1800s enjoying and experimenting with the new-fangled sport. Of course, this was before they figured out that it was best to cut a hole in the bottom of the basket! This was probably the first backyard pick-up game of hoops.

The first day cancel, in itself, is a sufficient reason to add this cover to your collection. I did really well in Boston on the day of issue and got the cancellation equivalent of a slam dunk. It is a beautiful, large, red bullseye and is one of the most gorgeous postmarks you will ever see.

Whether you are a sports fan or not, you'll love this cover. It's a bit of Americana. The stamp was to honor the centennial of the game, and my hand-painted cachet does just that with its tribute to Professor Naismith. The wonderful postmark was obtained on the actual day of issue and only by one cachetmaker — Collins, and that provides significant philatelic merit.