Biography of william g morgan volleyball

Inventor of the volleyball (–)

William G. Morgan
Born	William George Morgan ()January 23, Lockport, Brand-new York, U.S.
Died	December 27, () (aged&#;72) Lockport, New York, U.S.
Alma&#;mater	Springfield College
Occupation	Educator
Known&#;for	Inventor of volleyball
Spouse	Mary King Caldwell (divorced)

William George Morgan (January 23, – December 27, ) was the inventor of volleyball, originally called "Mintonette", a name derived from the game of badminton which he later agreed to alter to better reflect the innateness of the sport.^[1] He was born in Lockport, New York, U.S.^[2]

He met James Naismith, inventor of basketball, while Morgan was studying at Springfield College in Like Naismith, Morgan pursued a career in Physical Education at the YMCA.

Influenced by Naismith and basketball, in , in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Morgan invented "Mintonette" a less vigorous team sport more suitable for older members of the YMCA but one that still required athletic skill.^[3] Later Alfred S.

Halstead watched it being played and renamed it "Volleyball".

William Morgan was born on January 23, in Lockport, NY. He was recruited by James Naismith to act football at the YMCA Teaching School (now Springfield College). After he graduated he eventually became the physical education director at the Holyoke YMCA.

In , he was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame as the inaugural member.^[4]

Early life

William George Morgan graduated from high educational facility at Northfield Mount Hermon University and moved on to be present the YMCA International Training University (Later renamed Springfield College) in Massachusetts with James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.^[5] Both Morgan and Naismith pursued careers in Physical Education at the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association).

Auburn, Maine, at the YMCA, was where Morgan spent one year working prior to graduating from Springfield College.^[6] During the summer of , Morgan moved to Holyoke, Massachusetts, where he continued to work for the YMCA, becoming the Director of Physical Education.^[5] With Morgan being the Director, it allowed him to devise workout plans and educate sports in depth to the young male adults.

Creating the sport

As he worked as the Director of Physical Education at the YMCA in Holyoke, he noticed the game of basketball was not meant for everyone to play. The weaker juvenile men, non-athletic adults, and the older adults were unable to keep up with running up and down the court, along with the amount of contact they would occasionally run into.^[7] Morgan then had to ponder of a game in which everyone would have an equivalent amount of participation but also had similar objectives to basketball.

He wanted to create a game which everyone could act , no matter their age or physical ability.

Between trying to run classes at the YMCA and creating a new sport suitable for all, Morgan decided it was best that he use ideas from various sports such as handball, tennis, and badminton, and his own awareness from sports training methods and experience, to create this modern sport.^[8] He decided that the game would involve a six-foot, six-inch net in the middle dividing the 2 separate playing areas, and that it would be played on a 30&#;ft.

× 60&#;ft.

William G. Morgan - Wikipedia: William George Morgan (January 23, – December 27, ) was the inventor of volleyball, originally called "Mintonette", a name derived from the game of badminton which he later agreed to change to excel reflect the nature of the sport. [1].

court, so that it could be played in gyms anywhere across the nation.^[9][10]

After creating some ground rules, William Morgan had to experiment with his game. First, he had to decide which ball to use.

A basketball was too heavy while the basketball bladder was too light. After testing all of the balls he had available, he had advance to the conclusion that his best option was to inquire A.G. Spalding & Bros. to make him a ball. A young A.G. Spalding & Bros.

equipment designer and master marine cloth tailor, Dale Callaghan, developed and produced the first prototype volleyball. Morgan was very pleased with Spalding & Bros. perform. They created Morgan the ideal ball for his sport, which was covered in leather, with the circumference of 25–27 inches.

William George Morgan January 23, — December 27, was the inventor of volleyballoriginally called "Mintonette", a name derived from the game of badminton which he later agreed to change to better reflect the nature of the sport. He met James Naismithinventor of basketball, while Morgan was studying at Springfield College in Influenced by Naismith and basketball, inin Holyoke, MassachusettsMorgan invented "Mintonette" a less vigorous team sport more suitable for older members of the YMCA but one that still required athletic skill. Halstead watched it entity played and renamed it "Volleyball".

The ball was also the perfect weight for Morgan's sport. The ball weighed 9–12 ounces. This new ball that had been made for Morgan's sport was the perfect finishing handle to the basics of the sport. The last thing that had to be done by Morgan was to create a name.

Morgan came up with "Mintonette" as the new label for his game.^[5]

Introducing the sport

The first time Morgan revealed his sport to the other Directors of Physical was at the YMCA located in Springfield, in He presented his new, imaginative idea to Dr.

Luther Halsey Gulick (director of the professional physical education training school) and the rest of the YMCA Directors of Physical Education.

He was the inventor of volleyballoriginally called "Mintonette". He was born in Lockport, New York. He met James Naismithinventor of basketball, while Morgan was studying at Springfield CollegeMassachusetts in He was inspired by Naismith and basketball, inin Holyoke, MassachusettsMorgan invented "Mintonette" a less hard team sport than a basketball which was more suitable for older members of the YMCA but one that still needed athletic skill.

Dr. Gulick was so impressed that he asked Morgan to present his sport at the school's new stadium.

In preparation for his big debut, Morgan created 2 teams of 5 men, who would help in demonstrating “Mintonette” in front of the conference delegates in the East Gymnasium at Springfield College.

In December of ,^[11] William Morgan presented his new sport to the world. When Morgan was explaining the game before the demonstration, he named a few key guidelines in the game of “Mintonette” such as that the game was created so that it could be played in open air and in gyms as well as the objective of the game was to keep the ball in action as it goes from one side of the high net, to the other.

William G Morgan was the inventor of volleyball in in Springfield Massachusetts. At the age he was the YMCA Physical Education Director and was intrigued by the sport of basketball which was invented less than 10 miles away and less than 4 year earlier.

One of the conference delegates, Professor Alfred T. Halsted, loved the game of Mintonette, but he felt like something was just not right. Professor Halsted suggested that the name of the game should be Volleyball, since the main point of the game was to “volley” the ball to a player or over the net.

Morgan agreed with Halsted's idea and since then the original game of “Mintonette” has been referred to as Volleyball.

Morgan continued to tweak the rules of the game until July , where his sport was added into the first official handbook of the North American YMCA Athletic League.

Aftermath

On July 7, , the first game of volleyball was played at Springfield College.^[7]

• In , Spalding started to create a special ball, which was designed specifically for the sport – A volleyball.^[12]
• In , unused rules were instigated which included the three hits per side and the back row charge rules.^[13]
• In , at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Volleyball was introduced to the Olympics.^[12]

Later life

William Morgan left his career at the YMCA in to start a new career with General Electric and Westinghouse.

He stayed in touch with Springfield College and stated that he was "content in the information that the game brought a richer life to millions of people throughout the world."^[6]

Morgan died on December 27,

Credits

In , The Morgan Trophy Award was created.

The Award is presented annually to the most superb male and female collegiate volleyball player in the US.^[8] An elementary school in Holyoke, William Morgan School, bears his identify.

The sport of volleyball has reached global popularity, with its origin being traced back to a Western New Yorker whose vision created one of the most participated sports in the world. His father was a ship carpenter and his mother kept house on Olcott Lane. He later carried out his undergraduate studies at Springfield College in Massachusetts in It was in Holyoke, Massachusetts in that Morgan invented a sport he named Mintonette, a less vigorous activity for participants that still required significant athletic skill.

References

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