William G. Morgan 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 Morgan was studying at Springfield College in 1892. Like Naismith, Morgan pursued a career in Physical Education at the YMCA. Influenced by Naismith and basketball, in 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Morgan invented "Mintonette" a less vigorous team sport more suitable for
William G. Morgan play. The weaker young men, non-athletic adults, and the older adults were not able to keep up with running up and down the court, along with the amount of contact they would occasionally run into. Morgan then had to think of a game in where everyone would have an equal amount of participation but also had similar objectives to basketball. He wanted to create a game which everyone could play, no matter their age or physical ability. Between trying to run classes at the YMCA and creating a new sport suitable for all, Morgan decided it was best that he