Tens of millions of people will be tuning in this evening to watch the NCAA basketball finals, being held here in Indianapolis, Indiana. Recognizing how this sport has changed history, I wanted to share a few basketball related patents with you. Enjoy!

U.S. Patent No. 1,563,243 (issued on November 24, 1925 to E. K. Van, link HERE) - "BASKET-BALL GOAL." Claim 1 of this patent claims "In a basketball goal, in combination, a ring, an arm secured to said ring, a supporting foot secured to said arm, and a brace secured at one end to said ring and at the other end to said foot."

U.S. Patent No. 1,718,305 (issued on June 25, 1929 to George L. Pierce, link HERE) - "BASKET BALL." This patent claims a "case for a game ball, composed of panels, each of which has a length equal to a major part of the ball circumference, one continuously curved side edge, opposite, shorter, separately curved side edges, a convexly curved polar projection intermediate the separately curved side edges, and concavely curved ends to fit portions of the polar projections of another panel, the panels being connected together in pairs along said continuously curved side edges, and separately curved side edges of the panels of one pair being connected to similar edges of panels of another pair, and the concavely curved ends of the panels of one pair being connected to the polar projections of panels of another pair." Yes, that is claim 1.

U.S. Patent No. 2,162,085 (issued on June 13, 1939 to E. F. Hoppes, link HERE) - "BASKETBALL BACKSTOP APPARATUS." Claim 1 reads "In a basketball backstop apparatus, overhead supports, a rigid backstop supporting frame hingedly carried at its upper end by said supports, a rigid bracing frame having its lower end hingedly connected to a lower portion of said backstop supporting frame, means for movably supporting the upper end of said bracing frame on said supports, and means for releasably latching the upper end of said bracing frame to said supports."