By Rev. Dr. Ed &
Janice Hird
-an article in the
Engage Light Magazine
Being made in our Creator’s
image, is it any surprise that Christians keep creatively inventing? Few people
know that two of the most popular sports, basketball and volleyball, were both
invented by Christian missionaries in the 1890s as evangelistic sports? Many of us first learned to play volleyball
during our school gym class. Who might
have imagined that 127 years later, over 46 million North Americans and 800
million people globally would now participate in volleyball? Some estimate that
volleyball has become the most popular team sport in the world.
Born in 1870 at Lockport, New
York, William G. Morgan loved working at his father's boat yard on the banks of
the Old Erie Canal. Like many young men, he wanted to be just like his
dad. So at age 14, he initially ran away from home to work on a canal
boat. At age 15, William actually dropped
out of school because he felt awkward about being larger than most of his
classmates. His godly mother, seeing his
academic gifting, had him apply to the famous evangelist Dwight L. Moody’s Mount
Hermon School. A local pastor, R.
Norton, supported Will’s application, stating, “He is very thoughtful and
interested in spiritual things. He is very reliable and has much symmetry of
character.” Willam’s Sunday School teacher wrote this endorsement of the Morgan
family:
His mother is a remarkable woman.
A devout Christian, a “main stay” in her Church; calm, quiet, dignified in her
bearing, she purchases ably and shows great executive ability earnestly and
most devoutly does she work and pray for the good of young people of East
Lockport. Respectfully, L. F. Helmer (Mrs. J. S.)
William’s initial application
sadly was not accepted. Fortunately, his
persistent Sunday School teacher sent a second endorsement letter, saying,
I simply write
to ask attention to it, as his call is critical. If Will is not accepted now,
for term beginning in Feb., there is great reason to fear he will never go to
school again. Not from his wish, but from circumstances….A thoroughly
established Christian, inheriting from his mother superior qualities of mind
and heart, he is well worth polishing for his Master’s use. I beg your
attention to his application. Respectfully, Mrs. J. S. Helmer.
Within a week, Will was accepted
into Mount Hermon, where he had a steady diet of bible, academics, music, and
sports. While singing on evangelistic
tours, he fell into love with the pianist, Mary King Caldwell, his future
wife. Football became his passion. When the Mount Hermon football team held its
own against the superstar YMCA Springfield team, William was recruited four
days later by the Springfield Coach Dr. James Naismith. Springfield College was part of the muscular
Christianity movement, creating such a strong football team that they defeated
the best of the University teams, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
After Dr. Naismith received a
nasty concussion, he invented a kinder, more Christian sport, basketball. William Morgan, who was mentored by Dr.
Naismith, became the YMCA physical education director in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
There, he noticed that basketball was too rigorous for middle-aged business
people. So in 1895, he invented volleyball, as a gentler spinoff from
basketball. As a non-contact sport,
there were far fewer bloody noses. It was a clear example of iron sharpening
iron. In creating volleyball, William adapted ideas from handball, baseball, tennis,
and badminton. His desire was to invent a new game which everyone could play, regardless
of their age or physical ability.
Initially he called it Mintonette. Fortunately, he wisely listened to Professor
Alfred Halstead’s advice to rename it as Volleyball. Needing a lighter ball than a basketball, he
asked A.G. Spalding to create one.
Writing the original rules for volleyball, William printed them in
the first edition of the Official Handbook of the Athletic League of
the Young Men’s Christian Associations of North America (1897). William
Morgan left his job at the YMCA in 1897 to work for General Electric and
Westinghouse. Even though no longer a
YMCA missionary, William said that he was "content in the knowledge that
the (volleyball) game brought a richer life to millions of people throughout
the world."
in 1900 Canada became the first
country outside of the USA to adopt the game. YMCA missionaries quickly
introduced Volleyball to missionary schools in Asia. It became so popular that it was played in
the Oriental Games as early as 1913. Once
again, it was YMCA missionaries who ministered to the body, mind and spirit
through volleyball: Hyozo Omori and Franklin Brown in Japan (1908), Elwood S.
Brown in the Philippines (1910), J. Howard Crocker in China, and Dr. J.H. Gray
in Burma, China & India. Volleyball, like basketball, was truly a
missionary sport with global impact. In
the early YMCA, founded by the evangelist Sir George Williams, they didn’t just
play sports. Before each game, they
would have a time of Christ-centered bible study and prayer with the sports
team.
Volleyball caught on in Russia through
the YMCA. When the YMCA were kicked out in 1927 of Russia for being capitalist
and religious, volleyball however was allowed to remain. Russia eventually
became the dominant team globally.
During WWI, the USA troops brought volleyball to Europe. Volleyball was first demonstrated in the 1924
Parish Olympics, but not added as an official Olympic sport until 1964. Beach
volleyball did not get accepted in the Olympics until 1996.
We thank God for William Morgan,
an amazingly creative missionary, who left us with a healthy, non-violent sport
that has impacted the world.
Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird,
co-author of God’s Firestarters
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planting a garden 
