Everyone knows that James Naismith invented basketball back in 1891, but the man that brought hoops to life was more than that. In addition to inventing the game of basketball, Naismith was an experienced inventor, minister, and medical doctor.

Naismith was a far more progressive thinker than century-old black-and-white images of him holding a basketball would suggest, a man who was ahead of his time in many areas other than his chosen sport.

(Naismith) quickly realized that taller players had an advantage in basketball and wondered if there was a way to stretch babies to make them grow taller. Naismith actually conducted experiments on a machine he invented.

In 1907, he said his theory was that “the body is more or less elastic” and that “by stretching the body 30 minutes a day for six months, it will lengthen two inches.”

Check out the entire article at the New York Times.