Chronology of Sports in America

  • Track and Field Invented
    776 BCE

    Track and Field Invented

    This sport has been around since the beginning of the Olympics in Ancient Greece and was invented by the Greeks.
  • Soccer Invented

    Soccer Invented

    England is credited for inventing the modernized version of soccer. Along with the founding of the Football Association.
  • Football Invented

    Football Invented

    The first match was played on November 6th, 1869. It was played against two colleges, Rutgers and Princeton.
  • Tennis Invented

    Tennis Invented

    Tennis was invented in Birmingham, England which was originally called lawn tennis.
  • Softball Invented

    Softball Invented

    Softball's first game actually came about from a football game, not a baseball game.
  • Basketball Invented

    Basketball Invented

    Invented by a Springfield College instructor/graduate student, James Naismith.
  • Volleyball Invented

    Volleyball Invented

    William G. Morgan invented the sport in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
  • Beach Volleyball Invented

    Beach Volleyball Invented

    Beach volleyball began in Hawaii around 1915 at the Outrigger Canoe Club. Most people give credit to Santa Monica for the creation of its current competition outline.
  • NFL Created

    NFL Created

    Ten football teams from four states came together in Canton, Ohio. The league was first known as the American Professional Football Association.
  • NBA Created

    NBA Created

    Formed in the US by two rival organizations, the National Basketball League (founded in 1937) and Basketball Association of America (founded in 1946).
  • MLS Created

    MLS Created

    Before being called MLS, this league was called North American Soccer League which existed from 1968-1984. The league also started off with ten teams and quickly gained more.
  • WNBA Created

    WNBA Created

    The first game was played by the New York Liberty against the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles.
  • Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) Created

    Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) Created

    The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. Then NPF was created in 2004, but disbanded in 2021 after two cancelled seasons because of COVID-19. Then the Women's Professional Fastpitch was created just last year.