History of Physical Education, Exercise Science & Sport Historical Timeline

  • Native Americans

    Native Americans hunted, fished, canoed, ran from place to place, and engaged in a multitude of physical activities as they sought food, built shelters, and communicated with other tribes.
  • Growth of Education

    Education began to grow for both females and males. Female seminaries (private schools) increased educational opportunities for women.
  • Free Education

    Free public education began to grow and slowly become available for girls and boys but opportunities for secondary education and college education were limited.
  • Inergration of P.E.

    Schools began to incorporate physical education in their school curriculums.
  • YMCA (Young Men's Cristian Association)

    The YMCA was founded in London in 1844. The first YMCA opened in the United States in 1851. YMCA was created because of the interest in gymnastics and other health-promoting activities. It also added physical education after the Civil War.
  • Start of Intercollegiate

    The first intercollegiate competition occurred. It was a crew race between Harvard and Yale, with Harvard winning.
  • First intercollegaite baseball game

    Williams and Amherst played the first intercollegiate baseball game.
  • Dioclesian Lewis

    Established the Normal Institute for Physical Education in Boston to prepare teachers. This was the first teacher training program in the United States.
  • First intercollegiate football game

    Rutgers and Princeton played the first intercollegiate football game.
  • AAU

    the National Association of Amateur Athletics was develop but now known as the American Athletic Union. the AAU has played a and instrumental role in the participation of the united states in the Olympic Games.
  • APPE to AAAPE

    The Association for the Advancement of Physical Education was founded in 1885. Name was changed in 1886 to the American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education. Dr. Howard Hitchcock served as the first president of AAPE. this organization was the forerunner of today's American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD).
  • James Naismith

    Invented basketball.
  • First Olympics

    the first modern Olympics were held in Athens. It involved a small delegation of American athletes, organized by history professor William Sloane. Participation was limited to males and to 28 events in 4 sports: track and field, gymnastics, target shooting, and fencing.
  • Robert Tait Mckenzie

    He was an physician, physical educator, and noted artist-sculptor. he worked to help develop physical education programs for individuals with disabilities.
  • Luther Gulick

    He promoted play as important to the development of children. He played a instrumental role in the formation of the Playground Association of America, which sought to promote the development of urban and rural playgrounds, and served as its first president. It evolved into the National Recreation Association in 1930.
  • Clark Hetherington

    He articulated the four objectives of physical education as organic development (fitness), psychomotor development (skill), character development (social), and intellectual development (mental). invented the phrase "new physical education".
  • Intercollegiate Athletic Progams

    The National Association of intercollegiate Basketball was established for providing an association for the smaller colleges. it changed name in 1952 to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
  • ACSM

    A group of 11 physicians founded the Federation of Sports Medicine which was later became the American College of Sports Medicine.
  • DGWS

    The first National Institute on Girls' Sports was held to discuss ways to encourage more girls and women to participate in sports. The Division for Girls' and Women's Sports (DGWS) of AAHPERD played an important role in developing guidelines for girls' and women's participation.
  • NCAA

    The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reported that during the 1989-1990 academic year, 266,268ncollegians participated In intercollegiate athletica; in 2011-2012, over 560,000 collegians participated.