William G. Morgan on December 27, 1942. In 1995, The Morgan Trophy Award was created. The Award is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female collegiate volleyball player in the US. An elementary school in Holyoke, William Morgan School, bears his name. William G. Morgan William George Morgan (January 23, 1870 – December 27, 1942) was the inventor of volleyball, originally called "Mintonette", a name derived from the game of badminton which he later agreed to change to better reflect the nature of the sport. He was born in Lockport, New York, US. He met James Naismith, inventor of basketball, while
William G. Morgan use ideas from various sports such as handball, tennis, and badminton, and his own knowledge from sports training methods and experience, to create this new sport. He decided that the game would involve a six-foot, six-inch net in the middle dividing the 2 separate playing areas, and that it would be played on a 30 ft. × 60 ft. court, so that it could be played in gyms anywhere across the nation. After creating some ground rules, William Morgan had to experiment with his game. First, he had to decide which ball to use. A basketball was too heavy while