Chronology of Sports in America

  • 776 BCE

    Track and Field Invented

    Track and Field Invented
    This sport has been around since the beginning of the Olympics in Ancient Greece and was invented by the Greeks.
  • Soccer Invented

    Soccer Invented
    England is credited for inventing the modernized version of soccer. Along with the founding of the Football Association.
  • Football Invented

    Football Invented
    The first match was played on November 6th, 1869. It was played against two colleges, Rutgers and Princeton.
  • Tennis Invented

    Tennis Invented
    Tennis was invented in Birmingham, England which was originally called lawn tennis.
  • Softball Invented

    Softball Invented
    Softball's first game actually came about from a football game, not a baseball game.
  • Basketball Invented

    Basketball Invented
    Invented by a Springfield College instructor/graduate student, James Naismith.
  • Volleyball Invented

    Volleyball Invented
    William G. Morgan invented the sport in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
  • Beach Volleyball Invented

    Beach Volleyball Invented
    Beach volleyball began in Hawaii around 1915 at the Outrigger Canoe Club. Most people give credit to Santa Monica for the creation of its current competition outline.
  • NFL Created

    NFL Created
    Ten football teams from four states came together in Canton, Ohio. The league was first known as the American Professional Football Association.
  • NBA Created

    NBA Created
    Formed in the US by two rival organizations, the National Basketball League (founded in 1937) and Basketball Association of America (founded in 1946).
  • MLS Created

    MLS Created
    Before being called MLS, this league was called North American Soccer League which existed from 1968-1984. The league also started off with ten teams and quickly gained more.
  • WNBA Created

    WNBA Created
    The first game was played by the New York Liberty against the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles.
  • Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) Created

    Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) Created
    The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. Then NPF was created in 2004, but disbanded in 2021 after two cancelled seasons because of COVID-19. Then the Women's Professional Fastpitch was created just last year.