History of Volleyball

Surprisingly, one of the most popular sports in the world is also relatively young. Despite the game’s youth, it has undergone a variety of changes and evolution as part of its rich history.

Believe it or not, suddenly there weren’t Asics or Nike women’s volleyball shoes or even volleyball uniforms for sale anywhere, let alone online!

A little over 100 years ago, in 1895, William G. Morgan developed the first volleyball game. At that time, Morgan called the game “Mintonette”. “Mintonette” was created for business people as a game that included less physical contact in the chapter of the YMCA where he worked in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Morgan borrowed aspects from multiple games to create his own game. The first aspect was tennis, borrowing the net. Instead of the standard net, however, he raised it to 6 feet 6 inches high, making it just above the heads of the average man. Other sports he borrowed are basketball, baseball and handball. During one of the sport’s demonstration games, one of the audience commented that the game was more about symiching and the name of the games was changed to volleyball.

That was just the beginning.

This game marked the first real start to the sport and led to other games played at a variety of different colleges. In 1900 volleyball had lost enough weight when a special ball was designed just for the game. Another achievement, which was also accomplished in 1900, was that the YMCA brought the sport from America to Canada, the Orient and the southern hemisphere. Five years later, volleyball also spread to Cuba. This spread marked the beginning of the volleyball era. Unlike most sports, volleyball moved internationally in its early days, allowing the game to evolve to meet players’ needs worldwide.

In 1907, volleyball received its first recognition as one of the most popular sports at the Playground of America Convention. It was the first recognition the sport received and helped to increase its popularity.

In 1916, volleyball saw its first true development. The Set and Spike offensive pass was introduced in the Philippines and the game has been changed to incorporate this new form. The Filipinos developed the “Bomba”, which is the kill, and the name of the hit man, the “Bomberino”. In the same year, the NCAA was invited by the YMCA to change the rules of the game, and was initiated in colleges and other schools as part of standard physical education and intramural programs. A year later, the points system was also adjusted so that a game ended after 15 instead of 21 points. This allowed more games to be played within the same amount of time, in an attempt to make the sessions a little shorter for the players.

Timeline Of Significant Events

Three short years later, in 1919, the American Expeditionary Forces donated 16,000 volleyball players to the troops, which provided an incentive for growth abroad. With this growth in sport, new rules began to develop. A year later, the three hits per side were settled and the attack rules introduced in the back row.

In 1928, players and fans of the sport realized that “official” tournament rules and regulations were required. The United States Volleyball Association was founded and the first Us Open Volleyball tournament was held. The U.S. Open allowed cadres that were not sanctioned by YMCA to participate, which was a breakthrough at the time. This development allowed sports lovers to fully enjoy the game without being tied to the organization that created it.