History of Golf

History


Golf is a very old game of which the exact origins are unclear. The origin of golf is open to debate as to being Chinese, Dutch or Scottish. However, the most accepted golf history theory is that this sport originated from Scotland in the 1100s.

A game somewhat similar to golf was first mentioned in Dōngxuān Records (Chinese: 東軒錄), a Chinese book of 11th Century. It was also mentioned on February 26, 1297 in the Netherlands in a city called Loenen aan de Vecht. Here the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. Whoever hit the ball into a target several hundreds of meters away the most number of times, won.

However, modern golf is considered to be a Scottish invention, as the game was mentioned in two 15th century laws prohibiting the playing of the game of gowf. Some scholars have suggested that this refers to another game which is more akin to modern shinty, hurling or field hockey than golf. A game of putting a small ball into a hole in the ground using clubs was played in 17th century Netherlands. Flourishing trade over the North Sea during the Middle Ages and early Modern Period led to much language interaction between Scots, Dutch, Flemish and other languages. There are reports of even earlier accounts of golf from continental Europe.

The oldest playing golf course in the world is The Musselburgh Old Links Golf Course . Evidence has shown that golf was played here in 1672 although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567.

Golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews, in Fife, established a customary route through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes.

The major changes in equipment since the 19th century have been better mowers, especially for the greens, better golf ball designs, using rubber and man-made materials since about 1900, and the introduction of the metal shaft beginning in the 1930s. Also in the 1930s the wooden golf tee was invented. In the 1970s the use of steel and then titanium to replace wood heads began, and shafts made of "graphite" (also known as carbon fiber) were introduced in the 1980s. Though wooden tees are still most popular, various designs of plastic tees have been developed in recent years, and the synthetic materials composing the modern ball continue to be developed.

Golf balls are famous for "dimples". These small dips in the surface of the golf ball decrease aerodynamic drag which allows the ball to fly further.[8] Golf is also famous for the use of flags. These show the position of the hole to players when they make their first drive and are too far away from the hole to aim accurately. When all players in a group are within putting distance, the flag is removed by a "caddy" or a fellow player to allow for easier access to the hole.

History of Baseball

Origins of baseball


The distinct evolution of baseball from among the various bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. While there has been general agreement that modern baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, the 2006 book Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game, by David Block, argues against that notion. Several references to "baseball" and "bat-and-ball" have been found in British and American documents of the early eighteenth century. The earliest known description is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery. It contains a wood-cut illustration of boys playing "base-ball," showing a baseball set-up roughly similar to the modern game, and a rhymed description of the sport. The earliest known unambiguous American discussion of "baseball" was published in a 1791 Pittsfield, Massachusetts, town bylaw that prohibited the playing of the game within 80 yards (70 m) of the town's new meeting house. The English novelist Jane Austen made a reference to children playing "base-ball" on a village green in her book Northanger Abbey, which was written between 1798 and 1803 (though not published until 1818).

The first full documentation of a baseball game in North America is Dr. Adam Ford's contemporary description of a game that took place in 1838 on June 4 (Militia Muster Day) in Beachville, Ontario, Canada; this report was related in an 1886 edition of Sporting Life magazine in a letter by former St. Marys, Ontario, resident Dr. Matthew Harris. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright of New York City led the codification of an early list of rules (the so-called Knickerbocker Rules), from which today's have evolved. He had also initiated the replacement of the soft ball used in rounders with a smaller hard ball.[6] While there are reports of Cartwright's club, the New York Knickerbockers, playing games in 1845, the game now recognized as the first in U.S. history to be officially recorded took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey, with the "New York Nine" defeating the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.

History of Badminton

Badminton was known in ancient times; an early form of the sport was played in ancient Greece and Egypt. In Japan, the related game Hanetsuki was played as early as the 16th century. In the west, badminton came from a game called battledore and shuttlecock, in which two or more players keep a feathered shuttlecock in the air with small racquets. The game was called "Poona" in India during the 18th century, and British Army officers stationed there took a competitive Indian version back to England in the 1860s, where it was played at country houses as an upper class amusement. Isaac Spratt, a London toy dealer, published a booklet, "Badminton Battledore - a new game" in 1860, but unfortunately no copy has survived.[2]

The new sport was definitively launched in 1873 at the Badminton House, Gloucestershire, owned by the Duke of Beaufort. During that time, the game was referred to as "The Game of Badminton," and, the game's official name became Badminton.

Until 1887 the sport was played in England under the rules that prevailed in India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized the rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. The basic regulations were drawn up in 1887.[3] In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set of rules according to these regulations, similar to today's rules, and officially launched badminton in a house called "Dunbar" at 6 Waverley Grove, Portsmouth, England on September 13 of that year. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.

The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World Federation) was established in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs international badminton and develops the sport globally.

While originated in England, international badminton has traditionally been dominated by a few Asian countries, plus Denmark from Europe. China, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia are among the nations that have consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades and dominated competitions on the international level, with China being the most dominant in recent years.

History of Volleyball part 2

Origin of volleyball

On February 9, 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts (USA), William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director, created a new game called Mintonette as a pastime to be played preferably indoors and by any number of players. The game took some of its characteristics from tennis and handball. Another indoor sport, basketball, was catching on in the area, having been invented just ten miles (sixteen kilometers) away in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, only four years before. Mintonette (as volleyball was then known) was designed to be an indoor sport less rough than basketball for older members of the YMCA, while still requiring a bit of athletic effort.

The first rules, written down by William G. Morgan, called for a net 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) high, a 25×50 ft² (7.6×15.2 m²) court, and any number of players. A match was composed of nine innings with three serves for each team in each inning, and no limit to the number of ball contacts for each team before sending the ball to the opponents’ court. In case of a serving error, a second try was allowed. Hitting the ball into the net was considered a foul (with loss of the point or a side-out)—except in the case of the first-try serve.

After an observer, Alfred Halstead, noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896, played at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfield College), the game quickly became known as volleyball (it was originally spelled as two words: "volley ball"). Volleyball rules were slightly modified by the International YMCA Training School and the game spread around the country to various YMCAs.

History of Tennis

Tennis was first played in the early 1900's, when several english sports officials, most ofthem very horny, agreed that cricket simply wasn't a sexy enough sport. A movement advocating nude cricket briefly surfaced, but the game faded into obscurity after several severe injuries (ultimately resurfacing as a low-budget porn film in the early 1990's). So a new game was invented known as "Tennis". Originally, the only rules were that two women had to play, they both had to be hot, and they both had to wear short shorts and bend over whenever possible. At the end of several hours, one of the two players was randomly declared a winner, and given a pair of even shorter shorts to wear to the finals.

History of Dodgeball

Ancient Dodgeball was played by opium-addicted Chinamen, who threw severed human heads at each other.The heads were mostly harvested from white people, who were disgusting and an anarchronism anyway. Back then, the objective was not so much to dodge the head as it was to catch the head in one's mouth before flinging it violently back at the opponent. The object was not only to peg the other player, but also to hit him with such ferocity that the human head would literally explode, causing a flurry of skull and brain material to shower the loser and forcing much shame and dishonor upon him. More often than not, the loser would then decapitate himself, thereby regaining some honor while also allowing the game to go on. And afterwards, the winning team would eat the heads they played with as a sign of honor.

Modern Dodgeball was invented by Augustus Hagerson in Africa in 1832. However, all Hagerson did to "modernize" it was to give teams funny names, like "The Dodging Squirrels". The popularity of the game soared, as did the popularity of those kinky rubber balls found in elementary school gym closets around the world. According to a recent international poll, dodgeball is one of the most popular sports out there. Even the stuck-up pansy Queen of England is on record as saying "dodgeball kicks butt." Indeed it does. It is not, however, an Olympic sport.

History of Soccer (football)

Association Football
During the second part of the 19th century in England, rugby as well as most sports experienced a massive surge in popularity. This was mostly an effect of the Industrial Revolution, which drew people in cities and factories, depriving them from the typical outdoor activities of rural life. Recreation became common and people turned to sport on Sundays, in addition to their religious activities. British traders, sailors and workers spread sport and football all over the globe through their web of colonies

Association Football Milestones
Early Days of FIFA (1904-1938)

Modern Era
Soccer, as we know it today, was molded during the 1960s. Increased media coverage and TV broadcasts made the game far more popular than it ever was. Commercial air flight replaced traveling by ship, which made it more efficient to conduct international matches.

Hooliganism in European Football
Hooligans and Ultras
Greatest Soccer Derbies and Rivalries
History of Soccer Gaming

Jules Rimet (left) was president of the French football federation and FIFA at the time of the first World Cup. The original World Cup trophy was named in his honor. The trophy itself had a rocky history: During World War II, Ottorino Barassi, an official of the Italian football association, hid it in a shoe-box under his bed. Later, it was stolen during a public exhibition just before the 1966 World Cup Final, then recovered and stolen again, seventeen years later in Brazil. It hasn't been found seen since and many speculate that it may have been melted.

History of Basketball

The History of Basketball

Basketball was invented in December 1891 by the Canadian-American clergyman, educator, and physician James Naismith, then an instructor at the Young Men’s Christian Association Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Mass.

Naismith formulated the game on the request of his superior, Dr. Luther H. Gulick (1865–1918), that he organize a vigorous recreation suitable for indoor winter play. The game used elements of football, soccer, and hockey, and the first ball used was a soccer ball. Teams had nine players, and the goals were wooden peach baskets affixed to the walls. By 1897–98, teams of five became standard. The game rapidly spread nationwide and to Canada and other parts of the world, played by both women and men; it also became a popular informal outdoor game. U.S. servicemen in World War II popularized the sport in many other countries.

Many U.S. colleges adopted the game between about 1893 and 1895. In 1934 college games were staged in New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the first time, and college basketball began to attract much interest. By the 1950s it had become a major college sport, thus paving the way for a growth of interest in professional basketball.

The first pro basketball league, the National League, was formed in 1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less rough game. One of the first and greatest pro teams was the Original Celtics, organized about 1915 in New York City.


They played as many as 150 games a season and dominated basketball in the 1920s. The Harlem Globetrotters, an exhibition team, were founded in 1927 and achieved wide popularity for their amusing court antics and expert ballhandling. By the 1960s pro teams from coast to coast played before crowds of millions annually. Since the 1980s the NBA has become one of the most popular sports organizations in the world, in part because of the marketability of a number of high-profile star players, most notably Michael Jordan. A labor dispute curtailed the 1998–99 season.

Volley Ball- A History Not Too Old

Volley ball is one of the most popular sports in the world that draws attention of sports buff across the globe. Seeing its not too old history, game's popularity around the globe seems incredible. This sport is barely one hundred and ten year old and has already gone through various stages of evolution.

The history begins with Mr. G. Morgan developing the initial form of the sport in 1895. He termed the game, “Mintonette”. This sport originally aimed at providing entertainment to the businessmen. The birthplace of volleyball was Masachussetts where Morgan used to work, in Holyoke. Though the game was new in itself, Morgan combined various facets of other sports to make it playable. Net was introduced from tennis, although it's height was raised above the height of the normal man. Some other ideas were taken from baseball and baseball.

The credit of the present name of the game goes to a spectator. While watching one such game, the spectator commented that game is all about volleying the ball. That was the day when this game was christened again as Volleyball.

It took one year for the first official game to be played in 1896. The venue was Springfield College. Then onwards the sport never looked back. By 1900, a new ball was specifically made to suit the sport. The year also witnessed the sport getting trans national as YMCA took the volleyball to Canada and South America. Within four to five years, Cuba also became a host to the game.

Within twelve years of its birth, volleyball was declared as one of the most popular sport at play America convention. By 1913, the sport registered an entry in Eastern game events. A new thing was introduced in the game at Philippines in 1916. It was the introduction of spike and set pass in the game. The term “Bomba” and “Bomberino” for kill and the hitter was also a contribution of Filipinos. Later, scoring points were also reduced to 15 from 21.

A few years later sixteen thousand volleyballs were distributed to army men by American Expeditionary Forces, resulting in a surge in the popularity of the sport. By 1928, American Volleyball Association was ready to organize tournaments. Men's open was kick started in US. In 1934, the sport witnessed introduction of referees. It took six more years to facilitate way for World Championship in the sport. The sport registered its birth in Olympic in 1964. Growing popularity among women gave way to Women's professional Volley Ball Association.

This fascinating journey of Volleyball is on and still moving. Seeing its growing acceptance, it is likely to scale new heights in the history of sports.