Question: Which 1959 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame contributor inductee is the oldest ?

text: List of members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Members -- Contributors
For a person to be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor , they must have made `` significant contributions to the game of basketball '' . [ 3 ] Of the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 1959 , seven individuals were inducted as contributors , including James Naismith , the inventor of basketball . All former NBA commissioners ( Maurice Podoloff , Walter Kennedy , Larry O'Brien , and David Stern ) have been inducted . Fourteen individuals inducted as contributors have won the John Bunn Award , awarded by the Hall annually to a significant contributor : John Bunn ( its inaugural recipient ) , Walter Kennedy , Clifford Fagan , Edward Gottlieb , Daniel Biasone , Larry O'Brien , Dave Gavitt , C. M. Newton , Tex Winter , Meadowlark Lemon , Tom Jernstedt , Tom `` Satch '' Sanders , George Raveling , [ 4 ] and Rod Thorn . Two inductees in this category are women : Senda Berenson Abbott and Bertha Teague ( both inducted in 1985 ) . The most recent contributor to be inducted is Jerry Reinsdorf , who entered the Hall in 2016 . [ 5 ] The exact number of individuals enshrined as contributors ( as well as the number of player inductees ) is subject to debate because of the Hall 's treatment of 2014 inductee Nathaniel `` Sweetwater '' Clifton , one of the first African Americans to play in the NBA . While he was initially announced as a contributor , [ 7 ] the Hall now classifies him as a player inductee . [ 8 ] Six inductees in this category were associated with teams that have been inducted to the Hall as units . Naismith organized The First Team , the group of players involved in the first-ever basketball game in 1891 and also inducted as part of the inaugural Class of 1959 . Robert L. Douglas , inducted in 1972 , was the founder and owner of the New York Renaissance , inducted in 1963 . Pete Newell , inducted in 1979 , was the head coach of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team inducted in 2010 . Three were associated with the Harlem Globetrotters , inducted in 2002 . Abe Saperstein , inducted in 1971 , was the team 's founder and owner . Kennedy , although best known for his time as NBA commissioner , had been the Globetrotters ' public relations director in the 1950s . Lemon , inducted in 2003 , was one of the team 's most enduring on-court stars . Ten individuals inducted in this category were born outside the United States—Naismith and Newell in Canada , Podoloff and Gottlieb in modern-day Ukraine ( part of the Russian Empire when they were born in 1890 and 1898 respectively ) , Douglas in Saint Kitts and Nevis ( part of the British West Indies at his birth in 1882 ) , Saperstein in the United Kingdom , Biasone and Renato William Jones in Italy , Ferenc Hepp in modern-day Hungary ( Austria–Hungary at his birth in 1909 ) , and Borislav Stanković in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina ( the Kingdom of Yugoslavia at his birth in 1925 ) . In total , 65 or 66 individuals , depending on how Clifton is classified , have been inducted as contributors . Luther Gulick , inducted in 1959 Amos Alonzo Stagg , inducted in 1959
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, honors players who have shown exceptional skill at basketball, all-time great coaches, referees, and other major contributors to the sport. It is named after Dr. James Naismith, who conceived the sport in 1891; he was inducted into the Hall as a contributor in 1959. To be considered for induction, nominees must meet certain prerequisites. Players must have been retired for at least three years before becoming eligible. Referees must have either been retired for at least three years, or, if they are still active, have officiated for at least 25 years at high-school-level programs or higher. Coaches must have either been retired for at least three years, or, if they are still active, have coached for at least 25 years at high-school-level programs or higher and from 2020 on must have coached for at least 25 years and reached the age of sixty years. Those being considered for induction as contributors may be inducted at any time; the Hall of Fame and its committees evaluate whether contributions are significant enough for the nominee to be inducted as a contributor. Teams are also inducted at the committees' discretion.
Year Inductee Achievements
1959 Luther H. Gulick Head of Physical Education at School for Christian Workers ( 1887-1900 ) ; Chairman of Amateur Athletic Union ( AAU ) Basketball Committee ( 1895-1905 )
1959 Edward J. Ed Hickox Represented New England in Olympic Trials ( Springfield College , 1936 ) ; five New England championships ( Springfield College ) ; Board of Directors of Basketball Hall of Fame ( 1959-66 ) ; National Association of Basketball Coaches ( NABC ) historian ( 1944-66 )
1959 Ralph Morgan Founded Collegiate Basketball Rules Committee ( 1905 ) ; Secretary and Treasurer of Rules Committee ( 1905-31 ) ; Founded Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League ( now the Ivy League ) ( 1910 ) ; Secretary and Treasurer of Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League ( 1910-31 )
1959 James Naismith Physical education instructor ( Springfield College , 1890-95 ) ; invented the game of basket ball , ( now called basketball ) ; developed basketball 's original 13 rules ; physical education professor ( Kansas , 1917-37 ) , FIBA Hall of Fame ( 2007 )
1959 Harold G. Olsen Big Ten Championships ( Ohio State ; 1925 , 1933 , 1939 , 1944 , 1946 ) ; helped found NCAA tournament ( 1939 ) ; Chairman of NCAA Rules Committee ; first Coach of Basketball Association of America 's ( BAA ) Chicago Stags ( 1946-49 )
1959 Amos Alonzo Stagg Played in the first public basketball game at Springfield and scored the team 's only basket in a 5-1 loss ; 7 Big Ten titles during late 19th century and early 20th century ( Chicago )
1959 Oswald Tower Member of Basketball Rules Committee ( 1910-60 ) ; Editor of Official Basketball Guide ( 1915-60 ) ; official rules interpreter ( 1915-60 ) ; coach of Wilbraham ( MA ) Academy ( 1907-10 )
1960 Henry V. Porter First representative for high schools on the National Basketball Rules Committee ; pioneered use of motion pictures to study proper playing techniques ; edited the first high school rule book ( 1936 ) ; edited the first state high school association publication , the Illinois High School Athlete
1961 John J. O'Brien President , Metropolitan Basketball League ( 1922-28 , 1931-33 ) ; President and chairman of the board , American Basketball League ( 1928-31 , 1933-53 ) ; dedicated to the advancement of professional basketball in the East ; supporter of referees and one of the first league administrators to begin fining players
1961 Arthur A. Schabinger Officiated in the Missouri Valley Conference , Big Eight , Kansas and Missouri Conferences , and the national AAU championships ; one of the founders of the NABC ; author of the NABC 's Constitution and By-Laws , and designer of its emblem ; promoted the adoption of molded basketball by colleges
1961 Arthur L. Trester Commissioner of Indiana High School Athletic Association ( 1922-44 ) ; coach and referee in Indiana ; known as the Czar of Indiana high school athletics
1962 Frank Morgenweck Operated and coached professional teams in 14 cities in the National , New England , Western Massachusetts , Hudson River , Central , New York State , Inter-State , Metropolitan , Eastern States , and American leagues ( 1901-32 ) ; National League championship ( Camden , 1904 ) ; Metropolitan League championships ( Patterson , 1923 ; Kingston , 1928 )
1962 Lynn W. St. John Lobbied for formal national and international rules for amateur basketball for three decades ; served on NCAA Rules Committee with James Naismith ( 1912-37 ) ; Chairman , Rules Committee ( 1919-37 ) ; Member , Olympic Basketball Committee ( 1936 )
1963 William A. Reid Director of athletics , University of Detroit ( 1919 ) ; Director of athletics , Colgate University ( 1936-55 ) ; President , Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference ( ECAC ) ( 1944-45 ) ; Director ECAC Executive Council ( 1945-49 )
1964 John W. Bunn Coached Stanford to Pacific Coast Conference championships ( 1936-38 ) ; Helms Athletic Foundation Championship ( Stanford , 1937 ) ; Chairman , Basketball Hall of Fame ( 1949-63 ) ; Editor , College Guide and Official Rules Interpreter ( 1959-60 )
1964 Edward S. Ned Irish Basketball director , Madison Square Garden ( 1934 ) ; integral in formation of BAA ( 1946 ) ; founded the New York Knicks ( 1946 ) ; President , New York Knicks ( 1946-74 )
1964 R. William Jones Co-founded the International Amateur Basketball Federation ( FIBA ) ( 1932 ) ; organized men 's and women 's European Championships ( 1935-63 ) ; organized men 's and women 's World Championships ( 1950-63 ) ; organized Olympic Basketball Tournament ( 1936-60 ) , FIBA Hall of Fame ( 2007 )
1965 Walter A . Brown President of the Boston Garden ( 1937-64 ) ; founded the Boston Celtics ( 1946 ) ; Celtics owner ( 1946-64 ) ; spearheaded the formation of the NBA ( 1949 ) ; President of the International Ice Hockey Federation
1965 Paul D. Tony Hinkle Helms Athletic Foundation Championship ( Butler , 1924 , 1929 ) ; President , NABC ( 1954-55 ) ; Chairman , Rules Committee of the National Basketball Committee of U.S. and Canada ; coached the Great Lakes Navy teams during World War II
1965 William G. Bill Mokray Started concept of college basketball doubleheaders at the Boston Garden ( 1944-45 ) ; first Chairman of the Hall of Fame Honors Committee ( 1959-64 ) ; owned the world 's largest basketball library ; considered the number-one authority on the game 's history