History of Volleyball William G. Morgan - Father of Volleyball Born in 1870 at Lockport, New York, William G.

Morgan spent his childhood years attending public school and working at his father's boat yard on the banks of the Old Erie Canal. In 1891 Morgan entered Mt. Hermon Preparatory School in Northfield, Massachusetts, and it was there he developed a friendship with James A. Naismith, who was destined to be the originator of basketball. Naismith was impressed with young Morgan's athletic skills and encouraged Morgan to continue his education at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts (now called Springfield College). While at Springfield, Morgan participated on the college's famous football team which played championship ball under the leadership of Alonzo A. Stagg, one of the "Grand Old Men of Football". In 1894, after graduation, Morgan accepted the position of physical director of the Auburn, Maine YMCA. The following year he accepted a similar post in Holyoke, Mass., and it was here the story of Volleyball began. Invention of the Game The year was 1895 and physical director William G. Morgan had a problem. The newly created game of basketball, while popular with the kids, was proving to be too strenuous for the local businessmen. He needed an alternative - something these older gentlemen could play - something without too much "bumping" or "jolting". It had to be physical - playing a game, after work and at lunch time, should provide exercise, but it also had to relax the participants - it couldn't be too aggressive. It had to be a sport, Morgan said, "with a strong athletic impulse, but no physical contact."

So, he borrowed. From basketball, he took the ball. From tennis the net. The use of hands and the ability to play off the walls and over hangs, he borrowed from handball. And, from baseball, he took the concept of innings. He termed this new game "Mintonette". And though admittedly incomplete, it proved successful enough to win an audience at the YMCA Physical Director's Conference held in Springfield, Massachusetts the next year. It was at this conference that Dr. Alfred Halstead, a professor at Springfield College, suggested a two-word version of its present name. "Volley Ball". And it stuck. The game of volleyball was quite a bit different from what we're used to. It was played on a smaller 25'x50' court, with an unlimited number of players hitting the ball an unlimited number of times, on either side of a 6'6" high net. Things tended to get a little crowded. Each game was broken up into nine innings, each inning made of up three outs, or "serves". These serves could be helped over the net by a second player, if the server didn't quite reach the net. The basketball originally used proved to be a little too heavy, and the subsequent use of a basketball bladder, too soft. Morgan remedied this by contacting A.G. Spalding, a local sporting goods manufacturer who designed a special ball - a rubber bladder, encased in leather, 25" or so in circumference. The "volleyball". Though still in its infancy, the sport was slowly developing and with the YCMA taking the reigns, Morgan was confident volleyball would continue to entertain and relax the boys down at the "Y".

What he probably didn't realize was that he had just created what would become the second most popular team sport in the world. Worldwide Growth The physical education directors of the YMCA, encouraged particularly by two professional schools of physical education, Springfield college in Massachusetts and George Williams College in Chicago (now at Downers Grove, Illinois), adopted volleyball in all its societies throughout the United States, Canada (in 1900 Canada became the first foreign country to adopt the game), and also in many other countries: Elwood S. Brown in the Philippines (1910), J. Howard Crocker in China, Franklin H. Brown in Japan (1908), Dr. J.H. Gray in Burma, in China and in India, and others in Mexico and South American, European and African countries. By 1913 the development of volleyball on the Asian continent was assured as, in that year, the game was included in the programme of the first FarEastern Games, organized in Manila. It should be noted that, for a long time, Volleyball was played in Asia according to the "Brown" rules which, among other things, used 16 players (to enable a greater participation in matches). An indication of the growth of volleyball in the United States is given in an article published in 1916 in the Spalding Volleyball Guide and written by Robert C. Cubbon. In that article Cubbon estimated that the number of players had reached a total of 200,000 people subdivided in the following way: in the YMCA (boys, young men, and older men) 70,000, in the YWCA (girls and women) 50,000, in schools (boys and girls) 25,000 and in colleges (young men) 10,000. In 1916, the YMCA managed to induce the powerful National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to publish its rules and a series of articles, contributing to the rapid growth of volleyball among young college students. In 1918 the number of players per team was limited to six, and in 1922 the maximum number of authorized contacts with the ball was fixed at three. Until the early 1930s volleyball was for the most part a game of leisure and recreation, and there were only a few international activities and competitions. There were different rules of the game in the various parts of the world; however, national championships were played in many countries (for instance, in Eastern Europe where the level of play had reached a remarkable standard). Volleyball thus became more and more a competitive sport with high physical and technical performance.

The FIVB It has seen the start of two centuries and the dawn of a new millennium. Volleyball is now one of the big five international sports, and the FIVB, with its 220 affiliated national federations, is the largest international sporting federation in the world. Volleyball has witnessed unprecedented growth over the last decade. With the great success of world competitions such as the FIVB World Championships, the FIVB World League, the FIVB World Grand Prix, the FIVB World Cup, and the FIVB Grand Champions Cup as well as the Olympic Games, the level of participation at all levels internationally continues to grow exponentially. The beach volleyball phenomenon also continues to amaze. The overwhelming spectator and television success of Beach Volleyball since its introduction to the Olympic Games at Atlanta 1996 and the stunning success of the FIVB Swatch World Tour and World Championships has opened up volleyball to a completely new market. 1 MILESTONES IN THE VOLLEYBALL HISTORY A. LATE 1800- EARLY 1900 1895: William G. Morgan (1870-1942) created the game of volleyball. 1900: a special ball was designed for the sport. 1916: in the Philippines, an offensive style of passing the ball in a high trajectory to be struck by another player (the set and spike) were introduced. 1917: the game was changed from 21 to 15 points. 1920s: there are unconfirmed whispers of mens teams playing on the beach in Hawaii, but most accounts place the sport's origin in Santa Monica, California where the first Volleyball courts are put up on the beach at the Playground. Families play 6 vs. 6..

www.volleyhall.org/history.html

 1920: three hits per side and back row attack rules were instituted. 1922: the first YMCA national championships were held in Brooklyn, NY. 27 teams from 11 states were represented. 1928: it became clear that tournaments and rules were needed, the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA, now USA Volleyball) was formed. The first U.S. Open was staged, as the field was open to non-YMCA squads. 1930s: the first two-man beach volleyball game is played in Santa Monica, California. 1934: the approval and recognition of national volleyball referees. 1937: at the AAU convention in Boston, action was taken to recognize the U.S. Volleyball Association as the official National Governing Body (NGB) in the U.S. 1947: the Federation Internationale De Volley-Ball (FIVB) was founded. 1948: the first two-man beach tournament was held. 1949: the initial World Championships were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. B. 1950-2000 1964: Volleyball was introduced to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. 1965: the California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) was formed. 1974: the World Championships in Mexico were telecast in Japan. 1975: the U.S. National Women's team began a year-round training regime in Pasadena, Texas (moved to Colorado Springs in 1979, Coto de Caza and Fountain Valley, CA in 1980, and San Diego, CA in 1985). 1977: the U.S. National Men's team began a year-round training regime in Dayton, Ohio (moved to San Diego, CA in 1981). 1983: the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was formed.

 1984: the U.S. won their first medals at the Olympics in Los Angeles. The Men won the Gold, and the Women the Silver. 1986: the Women's Professional Volleyball Association (WPVA) was formed. 1988: the U.S. Men repeated the Gold in the Olympics in Korea. 1989: the FIVB Sports Aid Program was created. 1990: the World League was created. 1995: the sport of Volleyball was 100 years old! This Web site Volleyball.Com goes live! 1996: 2-person beach volleyball debuted as an Olympic Sport. 1997: Dain Blanton (with Canyon Ceman) becomes the first AfricanAmerican professional beach volleyball player to win a tournament on the Miller Lite/AVP Tour. 1998: For the first time in the FIVB World Tour, men and women players are rewarded at the same level with $170,000 in total prize money per Open event. 1999: For the first time beach volleyball was included in the Pan American Games which were held in Canada. C. 2000-2008 2000: Olympic Beach Volleyball Men's Gold medallists: Eric Fomoimoana & Dain Blanton (USA). The women's Beach Volleyball America (BVA) announces their inaugural season of play. 2001: Christopher "Sinjin" Smith plays the final match of his impressive career, a 21-19 and 24-22 loss with George Roumain to Dax Holdren and Todd Rogers in the 4th round of the contender's bracket at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open. Sinjin retires as the leader in tournaments played with 416, 2nd in all-time victories with 139, and 4th in all-time winnings with over US$1.6 million earned. 2002: Beach volleyball court dimensions reduced to 8m x 8m per side.

 2003: Karch Kiraly becomes the first player to earn US$3M in prize money and oldest player to win an AVP tournament at age 42 years, 9 months and 14 days. (You're never too old for volleyball!) 2004: Kerri Walsh and Misty May Win the Women's Olympic Beach Volleyball Title 2005: Olympic gold medalists Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor win their second Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Open women's title and the 2005 overall women's championship. 2006: Elaine Youngs' second place finish (with Rachel Wacholder) in Seaside Heights pushes her career earnings past $1 million. She becomes the third American woman to achieve that mark. 2006: In Seaside Heights, both Casey Jennings (with Matt Fuerbringer) and Kerri Walsh (with Misty May-Treanor) won titles, becoming just the second husband-wife duo to win pro beach events on the same weekend. They join Mike and Patty Dodd, who accomplished the feat four times in 1989, but each time in different locations. 2006: Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor win in Chicago as Walsh joins the millionaire club. She is the 18th person worldwide to win over $1 million in her career, and did so in fewer events (90th tournament) as well as being one of just four to reach the mark before turning 28 years old. 2007: Misty May-Treanor passes Brazilians Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede as the winningest player since the women's competition on the international beach volleyball circuit began in 1992. 2007: Misty May-Treanor becomes the women's all-time wins leader by capturing her 73rd victory, surpassing Holly McPeak's record by winning with Kerri Walsh in Hermosa Beach. She reached this total in just 123 tournaments -- winning 57.5% of her events. 2007: In a championship match that lasted 1:41, Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs defeat Jennifer Boss and April Ross 21-19, 18-21, 1614 in Seaside Heights. The marathon set the record for the longest

match in rally scoring, men or women, in domestic or international play. 2007: Karch Kiraly retires to close an impressive career on the beach, leaving as the all-time wins leader and money earner. His longevity was marked by the fact he won a tournament in 24 different years, and he advanced to the semifinals in over 75% of all the events he ever played and was named as the AVP's MVP a record-most six times. 2008: Hot Winter Nights, a series of 19 events in January and February, kicks off in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma marking the first ever indoor beach volleyball tour. Mark Williams and Nancy Mason are the first winners in the "King of the Beach format" events.2

History of Volleyball, volleyball.com/volleyball_history.aspx