The origins of volleyball in a game called mintonette

Basketball was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith

When Dr. James Naismith hung two peach baskets at either end of a Springfield College gymnasium, he was just looking to keep the school’s athletes occupied and safe during harsh New England winters, but the game he created would quickly turn out to be a national sensation.

Modern tennis was formalized in 1874

In the late 1800s England, a growing middle class could afford homes with lawns. With more lawns in England, Major Walter C. Wingfield saw an opportunity to bring lawn tennis to the masses. Modern tennis was formalized in 1874, when Queen Victoria granted a patent for Major Walter C. Wingfield's lawn tennis box set. The game was an instant hit, and by 1877, the new All England Club in Wimbledon began hosting a tournament.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington

Bill Bell and then-Washington State congressman Joel Pritchard created the game as a way to entertain their bored children. They grabbed items they had on hand, using ping pong paddles to hit a wiffle ball over a hip-height badminton net.

The origin of the sport's name is disputed

How pickleball got its name has been a point of contention for decades. The McCallums claim the family dog, Pickles, used to snatch the balls as they played and named it for him. Joan Pritchard, though, says Pickles didn’t join the family until after the game was invented.

Pickleball was originally intended for children

Bell and Pritchard only created the game to occupy their children's attention on vacation. As they continued playing the game, they began developing rules as-needed.

Table tennis originated as a leisure activity for the upper class

The sport's origin story can be traced back to 19th-century England, where it was known as "whiff-whaff." Players initially used a dinner table to play. After decades of evolution, ping-pong reached its "Golden Age" of popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.

PIckleball is the fastest-growing participation sport in America

The outdoor game experienced a surge in popularity during the 2020 pandemic because it could be set up in driveways, be played by all ages, and allowed for safe social interactions. That social aspect has helped pickleball’s popularity continue to rise post-pandemic. A March 2023 APP report showed 48.3 million American adults played the sport in the last 12 months.

See what women's tennis looked like through history

Women playing tennis today wear athletic clothing tailored to the demands of the sport. But when tennis started in the late 1800s, women were expected to play wearing long, Victorian dresses. Using historic photos, this Bustle article explores how tennis was brought to the US, what it looked like at the 1900 Olympics, and how the sport has grown since its inception.

The history of the tennis racket

Today's tennis rackets are made from lightweight composite materials, which is a big reason power, speed, and spin dominate today's game. But they weren't always built this way. This Top Sport Gear video shows the evolution of the tennis racket, from its start as medieval paddles, to the wood rackets of the early 1900s.

The history of the WNBA in 60 seconds

Women’s basketball began in 1892, less than a year after the sport’s invention, but restrictive clothing and societal norms posed early challenges. Senda Berenson modified rules to make the game more “suitable,” limiting dribbling and court movement. By 1971, women began playing with rules similar to men’s, and Title IX in 1972 provided federal funding, opening doors for future athletes.

Pickleball's ubiquity has led to a culture clash with tennis

Since the late 1800s, tennis has been the world’s premier racquet sport. But in the late 2010s, rapid growth and investment in Pickleball changed that dynamic. This Cult Tennis video explores the newly created tension between tennis and Pickleball players, both on and off the courts.

Cricket used to be America's pastime

Before baseball, American football, basketball, or hockey ever organized in the US, there was one sport which could be found up and down the East Coast: cricket. The second-most popular sport in the world, cricket is mostly ignored by Americans, despite its prevalence in early American history. Learn more about the forgotten role cricket played in the US with this article.

Athletes in Mexico are reviving a 3,000-year-old sacred sport

A modern team is working to revive Juego de Pelota, an ancient Mesoamerican team sport played by the Maya, Aztecs, and neighboring cultures. Once central to ritual and community life, the game was outlawed by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

Browse a timeline of the fascinating history of board games in America.

How men's volleyball teams are saving struggling colleges in the US

Many colleges and universities in the US are facing severe financial pressure from a mix of decreasing research funding, lower enrollment, and, overall, a decreased interest in higher education. For some colleges, beefing up athletic programs that aren't available at all schools, like men's volleyball, is attracting new students.

Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis

In this video, That Pickleball Guy walks you through the serve and two-bounce rules, what is “the kitchen,” and teaches five ways to win a rally.

The original basketball was hand-sewn

When the first basketball landed in a peach basket in 1891, it didn't look like the leather Wilson ball you see on today's NBA courts. The basketball evolved from the nondribbling days, when a hand-sewn ball with stitching like a football was used.

Pickleball's popularity has exploded in recent years

Pickleball has seen rapid growth in the US, with around 50 million Americans playing in 2022. It doesn't appear to be slowing any time soon.

Walter Camp revolutionized American Football

When Walter Camp was introduced to the game of football in the late 1800s, the rules weren’t set, the field wasn’t uniform, and the game was brutal. Camp joined early rules committees and was instrumental in shaping the modern game. Read this deep dive into Camp’s early life and influences, and find out how he established the line of scrimmage and the series of downs.

Bowling was long male-dominated, but women pushed for change through the sport

The sport was often played on lawns attached to breweries and became a leisure activity for folks in taverns—mostly men, in the 1800s. But the game's highly communal nature attracted a more diverse set of participants who pushed for social change.

One Connecticut prison is using pickleball for rehabilitation

The Pickleball for Incarcerated Communities League started in 2023 at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Hartford, Connecticut, but has already expanded to other facilities across the state. Inmates say it's been transformative. The program has plans to expand to other states.

Walter Camp shaped the rules that transformed football into the modern game

Known as the “Father of American Football,” Walter Camp introduced key innovations in the 1880s—such as the line of scrimmage, the system of downs, and the snap—that distinguished football from rugby and defined its modern structure.

Pickleball's popularity has created a power struggle

The sport's sudden rise has led to a tumultuous landscape with battles over governance, court space, and player rights. This Sports Illustrated deep dive examines the competing billionaires vying for control, the conflicts over court usage and noise disputes, and how a second proposed Hall of Fame is dividing the sport.

The surprisingly poetic origins of the phrase 'March Madness'

When legendary sportscaster Brent Musberger called the 1982 NCAA basketball tournament "March Madness," the term stuck and helped popularize the annual event. But he wasn't the first to use the phrase. This Time magazine article explores the contributions of Henry V. Porter, who originally used "March madness" in a 1939 article about the Illinois State basketball tournament, and later in a 1942 poem called "Basketball Ides of March."

Fantasy sports' roots go back to an 1860s parlor game that simulated real-world baseball.

See artifacts from the ancient Olympics at the Met.

Thanksgiving's connection to football began in 1876

It all started with a match between Princeton and Yale in 1876, attended by fewer than 1,000 fans. That competition spawned an annual tradition attracting millions of viewers across college and professional teams.

Pickleball injuries were responsible for $350M in medical costs in 2023

Unsurprisingly, picklers over 50 account for 90% of the injuries, with the most common being sprains, strains, and fractures. Experts say a substantial pregame warm-up can prevent most injuries.

The first MLB All-Star Game was designed by a sports journalist who believed the spectacle would boost baseball's reputation during the Great Depression.

Pickleball players and tennis players are running into problems over court space

Pickleball has become one of the fastest-growing sports in North America, especially for older adults. It's also led to tension with tennis players, whose courts are now being overtaken by pickleball players, with some municipalities adding pickleball lines to tennis courts.

A 1930s card game birthed modern fantasy sports

"National Pastime" used the statistics of real Major League Baseball players to determine a winner, creating the template for the modern fantasy sports model.

The inventor of fantasy football first experimented with two other sports

In the mid-1950s, Wilfred “Bill” Winkenbach, a part-owner of the Oakland Raiders, concocted two fantasy sports games: one for Major League Baseball and one for the Professional Golfers’ Association. In 1962, he invented fantasy football alongside two writers from the Oakland Tribune.

A deaf college football quarterback may have invented the huddle, so teams could not steal their signs.

Magic: the Gathering was inspired by baseball cards

Richard Garfield originally pitched a game publisher on a more complex game about programming robots, but he was told that they were looking for something less expensive and more portable. Inspired by the way baseball cards were collected and traded, he came up with the idea for Magic: the Gathering, which gave players packets of random cards, effectively pieces of the whole game, rather than the entire deck.

The Maya played a ballgame that symbolized the conflict between good and evil

Played on I-shaped courts across Mesoamerica, the Maya ballgame was a ritualized sport tied to cosmic struggle. Contrary to popular belief, the game did not involve mass sacrifice or basketball-style scoring.

'Harry Potter’ inspired a real-life version of Quidditch

Created by college students in 2005, the broomstick-based sport became an international phenomenon with organized leagues and World Cup tournaments. Now called Quadball, it’s played in more than 40 countries worldwide.

The NBA, explained

From humble beginnings in 1891, basketball transformed into the global juggernaut we know today. The NBA, established in 1949 and later revitalized by Commissioner David Stern in the 1980s, became a model for sports branding, player marketing, and international expansion.

PIckleball's popularity with seniors is partially due to its health benefits

Pickleball has always been a game for all ages, but it has been particularly popular among seniors, in part because of its many health benefits, including enhancing hand-eye coordination and burning more calories than walking.

Tennis balls are yellow, partly thanks to a suggestion by British naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.

The history of March Madness brackets

Every spring, millions of Americans fill out their March Madness brackets in hopes of picking the winner. But where did this annual tradition start? This CBS News article tells the story of how a bar in Staten Island started a $10 pool with 88 participants in 1977, and grew it into a $1.5 million contest that ended up getting shut down by the IRS.

Tennis can be played on clay, grass, hard court, or carpet

Tennis started on grass surfaces in England, but as the sport has grown, so have the surfaces used to play the game. This article details how each surface affects ball speed, bounce height, and player movement, and highlights which Major championship uses which surface.

Carmel, California, is looking into banning pickleball

Pickleball is the fastest-rising sport in the US, but it's not without its controversies. Chief among them is noise, which Carmel, California, a wealthy enclave on the state's central coast, seeks to remedy with a ban on the sport. It would be the first in the state.

Limited courts is a source of tension between pickleball and tennis players

Municipalities have rushed to accommodate the explosion of pickleball games, but sometimes they can't keep up. That's frustrated tennis players, whose courts are now often filled with people playing the sport.

Modern pro wrestling evolved from catch wrestling

Professional wrestling might be scripted, but its roots can be found in a competitive form that became popular in 19th-century England. Catch wrestling, or catch-as-catch-can, became popular among members of Lancashire’s working class. By the early 20th century, it was its own Olympic sport.

Before 1920, during the Deadball Era, a single baseball was used throughout a Major League game, leading to a notoriously dirty style of play.

The story behind the formation of the original PGA

The early 1900s saw a surge in golf courses across America, and there was a need for a national organization of golf professionals to help promote and grow the sport. This history explores how department store heir Rodman Wanamaker organized a luncheon that led to the formation of the PGA of America.

The first modern marathon was at the 1896 Olympic Games

The modern marathon was created for the revived Olympic Games in 1896, with the course starting in Marathon and ending in Athens. The race was won by Spiridon Louis, a Greek water carrier who surged in the last stretch to the delight of the hometown crowd.

100 years of NFL history in under four minutes

Founded in 1920 in Canton, Ohio, professional football has grown into the premiere sport in the US. Generating more than $20B annually, the NFL gained significant popularity after merging with the American Football League in 1970, a move which among other things established the Super Bowl.

Agnes Marshall invented 'ices,' the Victorian equivalent of ice cream, and improved the period's hygienic practices for consuming the dessert.

A 1893 speech from a Hindu monk in Chicago set the stage for yoga in the US, which exploded in popularity in the next century.