William G. Morgan

William G. Morgan was an American physical education instructor who invented volleyball in 1895, first naming the game mintonette.

Mintonette: The original name for volleyball, devised by William G. Morgan in 1895. Morgan's first version of volleyball carried this name.
Volleyball: A team sport in which players send a ball over a net and try to make it land in the opposing court. Morgan's invention developed into this sport, though its rules changed substantially.
Fédération Internationale de Volleyball: The international governing body for volleyball and beach volleyball, founded in 1947. Its global administration reflects the sport's growth far beyond Morgan's local YMCA game.
Robert Roberts: A nineteenth-century YMCA physical educator associated with the development of organized recreational activities. Morgan worked amid the YMCA physical-education movement Roberts helped shape.
Holyoke, Massachusetts: A city in western Massachusetts where the first volleyball game was developed at a YMCA. Morgan devised mintonette while working at Holyoke's YMCA.
Basketball: A team sport in which players score by throwing a ball through the opposing team's elevated hoop. Morgan designed mintonette as a less strenuous alternative to basketball.
Olympic volleyball: The indoor volleyball competition introduced at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Olympic inclusion marked a major milestone in the sport Morgan originated.
Luther Halsey Gulick: An American physician and physical educator who directed physical education at the International YMCA Training School. Gulick's program for adult recreation framed the setting in which Morgan devised a new game.
YMCA: A worldwide Christian service organization that has operated community centers and recreation programs since the nineteenth century. The YMCA setting supplied Morgan with a gym, colleagues, and adult participants.
Basketball court: A rectangular playing surface marked for basketball, often used for indoor sports. Morgan adapted a gym setting and net arrangement to create a game playable indoors.

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