Volleyball history. In 2010, volleyball turned 115 years old!
1896: July 7th – at Springfield College the first game of “volleyball” was played.
1900: a special ball was designed for the sport.
1900:YMCA spread volleyball to Canada, the Orient, and the Southern Hemisphere.
1905: YMCA spread volleyball to Cuba.
1907: Volleyball was presented at the Playground of America convention as one of the most popular sports.
1909: YMCA spread volleyball to Puerto Rico.
1912: YMCA spread volleyball to Uruguay.
1913: Volleyball competition held in Far Eastern Games.
In 1916, in the Philippines, an offensive style of passing the ball in a high trajectory to be struck by another player (the set and spike) were introduced.
1916: The NCAA was invited by the YMCA to aid in editing the rules and in promoting the sport. Volleyball was added to school and college physical education and intramural programs.
1917: YMCA spread volleyball to Brazil.
1917: The game was changed from 21 to 15 points.
1919: American Expeditionary Forces distributed 16,000 volleyballs to it’s troops and allies. This provided a stimulus for the growth of volleyball in foreign lands.
1920: Three hits per side and back row attack rules were instituted.
1922: The first YMCA national championships were held in Brooklyn, NY. 27 teams from 11 states were represented.
1928: It became clear that tournaments and rules were needed, the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA, now USA Volleyball) was formed. The first U.S. Open was staged, as the field was open to non-YMCA squads.
1930’s: Recreational sports programs became an important part of American life.
1930: The first two-man beach game was played.
1934: The approval and recognition of national volleyball referees.
1937: At the AAU convention in Boston, action was taken to recognize the U.S. Volleyball Association as the official national governing body in the U.S.
Late 1940s: Forearm pass introduced to the game (as a desperation play). Most balls were played with overhand pass.
1947: The Federation Internationale De Volley-Ball (FIVB) was founded in Paris.
1948: The first two-man beach tournament was held.
1949: The first World Championships were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
1949: USVBA added a collegiate division, for competitive college teams. For the first ten years collegiate competition was sparse. Teams formed only through the efforts of interested students and instructors. Many teams dissolved when the interested individuals left the college. Competitive teams were scattered, with no collegiate governing bodies providing leadership in the sport.
1951: Volleyball was played by over 50 million people each year in over 60 countries.
1955: Pan American Games included volleyball.
1959: International University Sports Federation (FISU) held the first University Games in Turin, Italy. Volleyball was one of the eight competitions held.
1960: Seven midwestern institutions formed the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA).
1964: Southern California Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (SCVIA) was formed in California.
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Volleyball History into the 60s
1960’s: New techniques added to the game included – the soft spike (dink), forearm pass (bump), blocking across the net, and defensive diving and rolling.
For the first time in volleyball history, in 1964, Volleyball was introduced to the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The Japanese volleyball used in the 1964 Olympics, consisted of a rubber carcass with leather panelling. A similarly constructed ball is used in most modern competition.
In 1965, the California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) was formed.
1968: National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) made volleyball their fifteenth competitive sport.
1969: The Executive Committee of the NCAA proposed addition of volleyball to its program.
1974: The World Championships in Mexico were telecast in Japan.
1975: The US National Women’s team began a year-round training regime in Pasadena, Texas (moved to Colorado Springs in 1979, Coto de Caza and Fountain Valley, CA in 1980, and San Diego, CA in 1985).
1977: The US National Men’s team began a year-round training regime in Dayton, Ohio (moved to San Diego, CA in 1981).
1983: The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was formed.
The AVP was created in 1983 as a players association and had been organizing and running the United States domestic tour for professional volleyball players since 1988. Tournaments were held in cities throughout the U.S. with flagship tournaments in the California locations of Huntington Beach, Hermosa Beach, Malibu and Manhattan Beach.
The AVP hosted some of the best professional volleyball players in the world, including the recent teams of Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers, Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal, Nicole Branagh/Misty May-Treanor and Jennifer Kessy/April Ross. AVP athletes have won at least one gold medal in every Summer Olympics since beach volleyball began as a sport in 1996.
1984: The US won their first medals at the Olympics in Los Angeles. The Men won the Gold, and the Women the Silver.
1986: The Women’s Professional Volleyball Association (WPVA) was formed.
1987: The FIVB added a Beach Volleyball World Championship Series.
1988: The US Men repeated the Gold in the Olympics in Korea.
1989: The FIVB Sports Aid Program was created.
1990: The World League was created.
1992: The Four Person Pro Beach League was started in the United States.
1995: The sport of Volleyball was 100 years old!
1996: 2-person beach volleyball was added to the Olympics.
1997: Dain Blanton (with Canyon Ceman) becomes the first African-American professional beach volleyball player to win a tournament on the Miller Lite/AVP Tour.
1998: For the first time in the FIVB World Tour, men and women players are rewarded at the same level with $170,000 in total prize money per Open event.
1999: For the first time beach volleyball was included in the Pan American Games which were held in Canada.
2000: Olympic Beach Volleyball Men’s Gold medallists: Eric Fomoimoana & Dain Blanton (USA). The women’s Beach Volleyball America (BVA) announces their inaugural season of play.
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