A Brief History of Sports
Here is a timeline of some of the significant events in the world of sports up until the 20th century.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 5000-300 B.C | The Chinese played a soccer type game named "Tsu Chu" |
| 776 BC | the first recorded ancient Olympic Games was held at Athens. |
| ~100 | The sport of sumo was developed around this time |
| ~1200 | Versions of football (soccer) were being played in various regions of Europe |
| 1490 | Leonardo da Vinci designed the world's first bicycle |
| 1500s | Golf originated from a game played on the coast of Scotland. |
| ~1550 | Early forms of tennis were being played in various regions of Europe |
| 1600s | The first mention of the game of cricket. |
| ~1750 | Cricket increases in popularity throughout England. The rules are codified and formal cricket clubs are established in London. |
| 1834 | The first modern Lacrosse games were played, though the original game was played by North American Indians. |
| 1845 | Alexander Cartwright wrote the first comprehensive set of rules for baseball |
| The rules of rugby were formalized in England | |
| 1839 | The Grand National horse race was first run |
| 1848 | The Cambridge Rules, the first codefication of the rules of soccer, were created at Cambridge University, England. |
| 1851 | The first America's Cup yacht race was held |
| 1855 | The first modern game of ice hockey was played, in Kingston, Ontario |
| 1858 | The first match of Australian Rules Football was played |
| 1860 | The first-ever The Open Championship golf tournament for men was held |
| 1861 | the first Melbourne Cup horse race was run |
| 1863 | The Football Association was is founded in London, England |
| 1873 | John Trudgen introduces a swimming stroke to swimmers in England, the precursor to the modern front crawl technique. |
| 1874 | The first American football game was played between McGill University and Harvard. |
| 1875 | The Kentucky Derby was held for the first time. |
| 1876 | Baseball's National League in the US started |
| 1877 | The first Wimbledon tennis event was held |
| The first Test match was played, between Australia and England. | |
| 1881 | The first year that the men's US National Tennis Championships was held (the precursor to the US Open) |
| FIG, the international governing body of gymnastics, is founded in Paris. | |
| 1882 | Shihan Kano of Japan developed the sport of judo. |
| 1887 | The first year that the women's US National Tennis Championships was held (the precursor to the US Open) |
| The game of softball is invented by George Hancock in Chicago, Illinois. | |
| 1891 | James Naismith invented the sport of basketball in Springfield, Massachussets. |
| 1895 | Volleyball was invented at the same US university as basketball, the new sport was called 'Mintonette'. |
| 1895 | The first-ever US golf open was held |
| Physical education instructor William Morgan invented volleyball in Springfield, Massachussets. | |
| 1897 | the first Boston marathon was run. |
| The world's first bobsled run is constructed at St. Moritz, Switzerland. | |
| 1896 | the first Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. |
Related Pages
- Much more on the History of Sport
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- For future sporting events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
