invention
Mintonette, the original name for volleyball, so named for its similarities to badminton, was invented by William G. Morgan on February 9, 1895 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Morgan graduated from the Springfield College of the Young Men's Christian Association or YMCA and was an instructor at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He has stated that the game was meant to be a combination of baseball, basketball (a fairly new sport at the time), handball, and tennis. The game was created to be played indoors and have less physical contact than basketball. It was originally designed for businessmen so they could be involved in an activity that still gave them a small work out. The first net used for a volleyball game was a tennis net and stood at just 6'6" high. When volleyball was first invented there was no limit to how many players could be on each team and there were nine innings per game, that allowed three outs each, similar to the game of baseball. There also surprisingly was no limit to the amount of hits of the ball on each side, this was probably due to the recreation nature of the sport. During one of the very first games of volleyball some bystanders remarked how the players were volleying back and forth, which led to the changing the name of the game from mintonette to volleyball. Volleyball was a better descriptor of the game and caught on quickly. -AN |
Willian G. Morgan the inventor of Volleyball
Image courtesy of Wikepedia.org An original volleyball set available for purchase in stores
Image courtesy of Sports-memorabilia-museum.com |
Timeline
1895: The invention of volleyball or mintonette by William G. Morgan
1896: The first ever game of volleyball was played
1900: The first specialized ball for volleyball was invented
1916: The offensive styling of spiking was invented in the Philippines and changed volleyball forever
1930: The first beach volleyball game was played in California
1922: The first YMCA National Championships were held in Brooklyn, New York.
1928: The United States Volleyball Association or USVBA was formed to create standardized rules
1949: The first world championship volleyball tournament was held for men in Czechoslovakia
1952: The first world championship volleyball tournament was held for women
1964: Volleyball was first introduced to the Summer Olympic Games.
1965: The first beach volleyball association appeared in California (CBVA)
1983: The professional volleyball players united together under the American Volleyball Professional or AVP.
1990: The Volleyball World League was created.
1996: Two man beach volleyball was introduced to the Summer Olympic Games.
-AN
today
Volleyball is the second most popular sport in the world today. Over 800 million people are said to play volleyball worldwide at least once per week. Volleyball is very popular with both male and female participants of all ages and athletic ability in the United States. Many high schools and colleges in the United States have volleyball teams. There are however fewer opportunities for male athletes to play volleyball. Volleyball has had limited success as a professional sport, especially in the United States. Attempts have been made to start professional indoor women's volleyball leagues, but none have been a lasting success. The issue has been lack interest by fans and advertisements. This has not stopped or discouraged volleyball players from turning pro and playing in tournaments all around the world. Beach volleyball is one of the most popular Summer Olympic Sports.
The present game of volleyball has changed to be more competitive than the original game of volleyball which was meant as an easy way of exercise. This change in volleyball dynamics has caused new rules and regulations to be put in place, adapting the game over the years. The game has also evolved into three distinct subsections, which each have their own sets of rules and regulations. These subsections are indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, and grass volleyball. The Olympics has events for both indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. -AN |
Professional men's volleyball league playing a game
Image courtesy of Youtube.com Beach Volleyball courts set up on Huntington Beach
Image Courtesy of Wikepedia.org |
famous players
Arguably the two most famous volleyball players from the United States are beach volleyball players Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. This partnering duo won the Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympics. They are considered the greatest beach volleyball team of all time. May-Treanor has retired from beach volleyball and went on to get her graduate degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration. Walsh Jennings is still playing professional volleyball and is married to fellow professional volleyball player Casey Jennings.
Another infamous American volleyball player is Charles Frederick “Karch” Kiraly. Kiraly is known for wearing a bright pink hat while playing volleyball. He is the only person to win Olympic gold medals in both beach volleyball and indoor volleyball. Kiraly is considered the Michael Jordan of beach volleyball. At 54 years old, he is the oldest player to compete in beach volleyball and can defeat opponents half of his age. He even received the award of the greatest volleyball player of the 20th century. He currently is the head coach of the US Nation Women’s Volleyball team. Lastly, Logan Maile Lei Tom is an 6’1” American indoor volleyball and beach volleyball player. She has been to the Olympics for indoor volleyball four separate times and has won two Olympic Games silver medals in 2008 and 2012. When Tom was 16 she joined the U.S. National Team. At the age of 19, Tom was the youngest athlete to ever be selected for an American Olympic volleyball team. -AN |
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings
Image courtesy of the Dailymail.co.uk Karch Kiraly
Image courtesy of Volleywood.net Logan Tom
Image courtesy of Pinstopin.com |
Fun facts
- The longest recorded volleyball game lasted 75 hours and 30 minutes…that’s over 3 days long!
- Volleyball is only exceeded in popularity by soccer.
- Most volleyball players will jump about 300 times in each match.
- Beach volleyball is the only Olympic sport that had a rule prohibiting players from wearing too much.
- 46 million Americans play volleyball at least once a week.
- The standard height of the net has been raised, because people are taller now than when volleyball was first invented.
- In the 1960s, the Beatles played a game of volleyball with President John F. Kennedy watching.
- There are six basic volleyball skills: serve, pass, set, attack, block, and dig.
-AN