User:Judicatura

Eddie Rios Mellado (November 8, 1929 in Naguabo, Puerto Rico - August 22, 2009) was the inventor of the three point line in basketball.

The idea of a 3-point-line on the basketball court was first experimented by its creator, Naguabo-born (November 8, 1929) Eddie Rios Mellado, son of former Naguabo Mayor Ramon A. Rios Algarin, in 1962 at Caparra Country Club in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, where he was Sports Directors. Then, he incorporated it as a playing rule in his very own "Liga Baby Basketball" (Baby Basketball League) in 1963, created in that same Club (See Primera Hora[daily newspaper], Saturday, May 31, 2008, www.primerahora.com). The league was for kids between 5 and 11 years old and not taller than 4 feet 11 inches. Players 7 and younger used protective helmets. This was, in his words, the smallest basketball league in the world. Its motto was "mi labor descansa mayormente en los ninos porque en ellos esta la verdad futura". (my work rests mainly with children because the future truly rests with them). Prof. Rios-Mellado was a coach and physical education teacher for 60+ years, since 1947 and, at 79-years-old, was working as a coach and sports director at Colegio Espiritu Santo, until August 22, 2009, when he died after a 21-day-stay at a hospital. On Monday, August 24, 2009, he was honored at the "Casa Olimpica" (PR's Olympic's Committee Headquarters) in Old San Juan with an honor guard. During FIBA's Tournament of The Americas he was recognized with a life-time achivement award for his dedication and recognized as the creator of the 3-point rule in basketball. You can watch his last interview at www.wapa.tv (PR's Channel 4) and a brief 9+-minutes-profile of his sports life at www.youtube.com (Eddie Rios Mellado). The Basketball Players Association of Puerto Rico awards the "Eddie Rios Mellado Trophy" to the player who shoots the most 3-pointers in the National Superior Basketball League, Puerto Rico's "NBA". In 2005, it was granted to Larry Ayuso.