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Creation of Baseball 1839
You may have heard that a young man named Abner Doubleday invented the game known as baseball in Cooperstown, New York, during the summer of 1839. Doubleday then went on to become a Civil War hero, while baseball became America's beloved national pastime. -
First College Football Game
On November 6, 1869, Rutgers and Princeton played what was billed as the first college football game. -
Lawn Tennis Invented
An Englishman, Major Walter C. Wingfield, invented lawn tennis in 1873 and first played it at a garden party in Wales. It later became known as just regular tennis. -
Basketball Creation
Basketball is the only major American sport with a clearly identifiable inventor. James Naismith wrote the sport’s original 13 rules as part of a December 1891 class assignment at a Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. Born and educated in Canada, Naismith came south to pursue his interests of physical education and Christian ministry. Naismith expanded on an assignment to create a game that could be played in YMCA gyms during the winter. -
First Volleyball Game
The game of volleyball, originally called “mintonette,” was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan after the invention of basketball only four years before. Morgan, a graduate of the Springfield College of the YMCA, designed the game to be a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball. -
First U.S. Open in Golf
The event took place at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. It was a nine hole course, and the tournament took one day. 10 professionals entered the tournament. -
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games are the leading international sporting event featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. -
First Modern World Series Game In Major League History
The Boston Americans of the American League played the Pittsburg Pirates of the National League. Boston won the World Series. -
United States Soccer Federation Founded
Originally founded in 1913 as the United States Football Association, U.S. Soccer was one of the world’s first organizations to be affiliated with FIFA, soccer’s world governing body. -
First Beach Volleyball Tournament
The first professional beach volleyball tournament was at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, California.
