Shot clock

A shot clock is a timer designed to increase the pace (and subsequently, the score) in a competitive sport. The sport most identified with the shot clock is basketball, although other sports have used one or are considering implementing one of their own to shorten the length of time needed to play the game to completion.

History

Coach Howard Hobson, who coached at Oregon State University and later Yale University, is credited with the idea. It first came to use in 1954 in Syracuse, New York, where Danny Biasone, the owner of the NBA's Syracuse Nationals, experimented using a 24-second version during a scrimmage game. Biasone then convinced the NBA to adopt it. His team went on to win the 1955 championship.

Related Topics:
Howard Hobson - Oregon State University - Yale University - 1954 - Syracuse, New York - Danny Biasone - NBA - Syracuse Nationals

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Some say that this invention "saved the sport of basketball" as it had begun to lose fans before its implication. This was largely due to the stalling tactics used by teams once they were leading in a game. Without the shot clock, teams could pass the ball nearly endlessly without penalization. Very low-scoring games were common.

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When the shot clock first came into play, it made many players nervous, to the extent that the clock hardly came into play, as players were shooting much quicker than twenty seconds.

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