William G. Morgan, who created volleyball so his YMCA class of businessmen wouldn't get hurt, is now credited for making a world-famous sport. Photo courtesy of photosforclass.com.
Prior to 1895, popular sports in the United States were physically grueling, such as football, rugby, an early version of hockey called bandy bandy (an early version of hockey), boxing and more.
As William G. Morgan, an instructor at the Young Men’s Christian Association in Holyoke, Massachusetts, welcomed his class of businessmen into the gymnasium, he realized his students wouldn’t be able to play such rough games. Thus, he sought to create a new one.
According to the Northern California Volleyball Association, Morgan “decided to blend elements of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball” that was also “fit for the gymnasium or exercise hall but, could also be played outdoor.”
As Morgan combined the basics of these sports, he created mintonette– what we now call the game of volleyball.
The basics of the game was to keep a ball in motion by hitting it over a net that stood six feet and six inches above the ground. If one team failed to hit the ball over the net – or if the ball hit the ground – the other team recieved a point.
After demonstrating the game, a spectator commented that it appeared the players were “volleying” the ball over the net, thus the name “volleyball” was born.
Morgan then established the ten original rules of volleyball. These rules referred to the length of the game, the size of the court, net and ball, how to serve the ball, how to score and the number of players on the court at a time.
The rules have evolved since 1895, but the basics of the game is still evident in Morgan’s original rules:
Volleyball quickly became very popular, and by 1896 it had reached Asia through the YMCA network. Because of this popularity, by 1900 there was a specially designed ball for the sport.
From 1900 to 1920, rules were set in place. The Philippines are credited for creating the “set” and “spike” in 1916. In 1918, a six-on-six play was standard, and by 1920, there were rules mandating three hits per side and back-row attacks.
Now with universal rules, volleyball became more accessible. In the 1920s, the United States, Russia and Japan each created their own national volleyball associations.
While the sport was popular in the United States and Asia, volleyball lacked popularity in Europe. This was until World War II, when U.S. soldiers brought the game overseas. From here, it spread incredibly fast.
In 1949 the International Olympic Committee recognized volleyball as a non-Olympic sport, and the first World Championships for men were held the same year. Three years later, the first women’s world-level competition was held.
In 1964 volleyball was introduced as an Olympic sport, appearing in the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The Soviet Union took gold, losing only one out of their nine games to Japan.
The Soviets dominated volleyball from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Although Japan challenged them a few times – defeating the Soviets and taking home gold in the 1972 Munich Olympics – the Soviets still dominated the sport, winning the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
The United States eventually proved themselves to be strong competitors when the men’s team won back-to-back gold medals, first in Los Angeles in 1984, and then in Seoul, South Korea in 1988.
In the late 1990s, the libero position was officially introduced to volleyball. The libero is easy to spy, because they’ll be wearing a different colored uniform than the rest of their team.
This position is reserved for the team’s most defensive player. The libero is a back-row player who can only be replaced by the same player they were substituted in for.
The libero can also not perform attack hits if the ball is above the net, nor can they set the ball to teammates when they’re in front of the attack line, which is ten feet away from the net.
To simplify the complex position, the libero is a highly skilled defender and passer. After introducing this position to volleyball, the libero has evolved into a vital component to the game.
According to ncva.com, “today there are more than 46 million Americans who play volleyball” and “over 800 million people (worldwide) who play volleyball at least once a week,” making volleyball a very popular sport throughout the world.
A sport that began as a way to accommodate the physicality for businessmen has evolved into a highly competitive, strategic and dexterous game that will continue to influence millions of people.
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