Organizing High School Sports In Kentucky: The Early Years Around the turn of the 20th century, football and basketball were both relatively new sports, but were catching on quickly. The first game of American football was played in November 1869, and basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in December 1891. As the sports were catching on around the country and in Kentucky high schools, the rules of the games (many of which seem completely standardized in the minds of today’s sports fans)