William G. Morgan (1870-1942) was the inventor of volleyball, originally called "Mintonette". He was born in Lockport, NY.
Career
William G. Morgan met James Naismith, inventor of basketball, while Morgan was studying at Springfield College, Massachusetts (after he attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School) 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 older members of the YMCA but one that still required athletic skill. Later Alfred S. Halstead watched Mintonnette and re-named it "Volleyball" as the point of the game is to "volley" the "ball" back and forth over the net.
Morgan died in 1942. An elementary school in Holyoke, William Morgan School, is named in his honor.
