The History of Volleyball

Volleyball is considered to be one of the most popular sports in the United States and all over the world. Moreover, the sport of volleyball continues to gain in popularity worldwide. Volleyball is an interesting and enjoyable game. Both women and men choose to play the game of volleyball. Volleyball is popular game among people of different ages. The number of people who take an interest in the sport of volleyball  is constantly growing.

It’s interesting to know that over 46 million people prefer to play volleyball in the United States regularly. About 800 million athletes play the game of volleyball once a week. Obviously, the sport of volleyball is on rise worldwide.

It’s good to know that the sport of volleyball has a rich history that lasts more than 120 years. Are you keen to learn the history of volleyball sport? If so, you have come to the right place! In this blog, we’ll highlight  the most important  moments  of volleyball history.

The Beginning of Volleyball History

 

The history of volleyball sport began in 1895. The sport was invented by William G. Morgan in the United States. It’s worth noting that the inventor of volleyball game worked as an instructor at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke.

Those people who have studied the history of basketball can quickly figure out that both sports (basketball and volleyball) were invented at the end of 19-th century. It’s important to note that both sports have similar histories. The first name of volleyball sport was “mintonette”. But the sport was renamed into “volleyball” (i.e. a flying ball) later. Thus, the sport received its original name.

William G. Morgan tried to create his own original ball game. However, he wanted it to be different from such sports as baseball, basketball and tennis. Finally, Morgan managed to invent the game that had a lot of important benefits over other sports. You need to know that volleyball has many common things  with other popular ball games.

The sport of volleyball quickly became to gain the popularity in the United States. Afterwards, the game has also become incredibly popular in Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Philippines,  Uruguay and many other countries.

Key Moments in the History of Volleyball Sport

 

Officially, the sport of volleyball was introduced to the world in 1986. The game’s rules were developed in 10 years. The first rules of volleyball game were published on the page that contained 10 paragraphs. It is important to note that the sport of volleyball developed quickly and successfully.  Afterwards, the rules of volleyball have changed many times.

Later, volleyball sport was introduced to European countries. So, the game was introduced to England and France at the beginning of the 20-th century. Later, the sport was introduced to other European countries,  including Czechoslovakia,  Poland as well as the USSR.

The 1-st official YMCA national volleyball tournament took place in 1922. The competition was organized in Brooklyn, the United States. The volleyball tournament brought together 27 volleyball teams from different  parts of the country.

The first volleyball competition made a great impression on the public. That’s why the United States asked the International O lympic Committee to include the sport of volleyball in the Olympic Games later. However, the 1-st proposal was declined. But later the volleyball sport became the part of the program on Olympic  Games which took place in Paris in 1924.

Obviously, the sport of volleyball lacked the association that took responsibility for developing rules of the game and organizing competitions. As the result, the first volleyball association (known as the United States Volleyball Association) was created in 1928. O f course, it was a key moment in the history of volleyball sport.

Later, the sport of volleyball divided into indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. T he history of beach volleyball began in 1930s. For the first time, two-man beach volleyball tournaments took place in Santa Monica, California. The sport of beach volleyball quickly evolved. Now, beach volleyball has become one of the most popular sports in the world. The game of beach volleyball has gained huge popularity in the Eastern Europe. International competitions as well as local tournaments are organized for beach volleyball players annually these days. Moreover, the sport has become the part of Olympic  Games.

Now, let’s come back to the history of indoor volleyball. As it was mentioned earlier, the first attempt to include the sport of volleyball in the O lympic Games was unsuccessful. The second attempt to make volleyball sport the part of Olympic  Games was made in 1932.

In 1934, the important meeting in the history of volleyball sport took place. The event has brought together different volleyball federations. During that meeting Volleyball Technical Committee was established. The organization had 13 members from Europe, 4 members from Asia as well as 5 members from the North America. Initially, the US rules were used for the game of volleyball. In 1947, the first congress of The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) organized the 1-st its congress in 1947. The event was held in Paris and brought together the representatives of such countries as Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Egypt, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the United States of America, France, Uruguay and Yugoslavia. During this event FISU Technical Committee for Volleyball was established. In addition, the international rules for the sport of volleyball were developed by the International Volleyball  Federation.

The 1-st president of the International Volleyball Federation was Paul Libaud. The next president of FIVB was elected Ruben Acosta Hernandez in 1984. Ruben is a famous figure in the history of volleyball.  He made a lot of important  changes in the game of volleyball.

The 1-st volleyball tournament in Asia took place in 1952. Afterwards, the volleyball sport was included  in the program of Pan American Games.

The 1-st volleyball  tournament  in Africa was organized  in 1967.

The next congress of the International Volleyball Federation was organized in Munich in 1972. The event brought together the representatives of such organizations as the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB), Confederation Europeenne de Volleyball (CEV), Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) and Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol (CSV). The International Volleyball Federation included  213 national federations  by 1997.

The next stage in the history of volleyball began in 1948. European Men’s Volleyball Championships were organized that year. Czechoslovakia men’s volleyball team won that competition.  Men’s and Women’s World Volleyball Championships  took place in 1949.

European Volleyball Championships

 

The History of European Women’s Volleyball Championships

Women from the USSR became the European champions 13 times (1949, 1950, 1951, 1958,

1963, 1967, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1985, 1989 and 1991). Women from Russia became the

European champions 4 times (1993, 1997, 1999 and 2001). Women from Czechoslovakia became the European champions in 1955. Women from Bulgaria became the European champions in 1981. Women from GDR became the European champions 2 times (1983 and 1987). Women from the Netherlands became the European champions  in 1995.

The History of European Men’s Volleyball Championships

Men from Czechoslovakia became the European champions 3 times (1948, 1955 and 1958). Men from Romania became the European champions in 1963. Men from the USSR became the European champions 12 times (1950, 1951, 1967, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985,

1987 and 1991). Men from Italy became the European champions 3 times (1989, 1993 and 1995). Men from the Netherlands became the European champions in 1997. Men from Russia became the European champions  in 2013.

World Volleyball Championships

 

The History of World Women’s Volleyball Champions hips

Women from the  USSR became the world champions 5 times (1952, 1956, 1960, 1970 and

1990). Women from Japan became the world champions 3 times (1962, 1967 and 1974). Women from Russia became the world champions 2 times (2006 and 2010). Women from Cuba became the world champions 2 times (1978 and 1994). Women from Chinese People’s Republic became the world champions 2 times (1982 and 1986). Women from Italy became the world champions in 2002.

The History of World Men’s Volleyball Championships
Men from the USSR became the world champions 5 times (1949, 1957, 1960, 1978 and 1982). Men from Czechoslovakia became the world champions 2 times (1956 and 1966). Men from GDR became the world champions in 1970. Men from Poland became the world champions in 1974. Men from the US became the world champions in 1986. Men from Italy became the world champions 3 times (1990, 1994 and 1998). Men from Brazil became the world champions 3 times (2002, 2006 and 2010).

Olympic Volleyball Championships

 

Volleyball became the O lympic sport on September 24 in 1957. The sport of volleyball was introduced on the O lympic Games in Tokyo in 1964. For the first time, the O lympic volleyball competition  brought together 10 men’s volleyball  teams as well as 6 women’s volleyball teams.

The History of Olympic Women’s Volleyball Championships

Women from Japan became O lympic champions 2 times (1964 and 1976). Women from USSR became O lympic champions 4 times (1968, 1972, 1980 and 1988). Women from Chinese People’s Republic became O lympic champions 2 times (1984 and 2004). Women from Cuba became O lympic champions 3 times (1992, 1996 and 2000). Women from Brazil became Olympic  champions in 2008.

The History of Olympic Men’s Volleyball Champions hips

Men from the USSR became O lympic champions 3 times (1964, 1968 and 1980). Men from Russia became O lympic champions in 2012. Men from Japan became O lympic champions in 1972. Men from Poland became O lympic champions in 1976. Men from the U.S. became Olympic champions 3 times (1984, 1988 and 2008). Men from Brazil became O lympic champions 2 times (1992 and 2004). Men from the Netherlands became O lympic champions in 1996. Men from Yugoslavia  became Olympic  champions  in 2000.