Josh Booth
Professor Pearson
West Georgia Technical College
05/02/2015
History of Sports/Games Using A Ball Sports or games have played a large part in the history of the world in regards to culture and entertainment and in some cases even sacrificial beliefs. Games using spherical shaped balls have been recorded as early as 1,400 B.c. in MesoAmerica and have evolved into what are now the World’s most prominent sports such as soccer or fùtbol. Games have evolved into sport, which has taken modern society by storm and created one of the largest economical entertainment industries in the world today. The first recorded history of games played with round objects was known as Ōllamaliztli, or simply as, “The Ball Game.” This game had ritualistic associations and has been dated back to 1,400 B.C. Many cultures grew to involve this game into it’s culture and ritualistic lives but the great civilization of the Mayans was the prominent exerciser. “As best as is now known from archaeological and iconographical sources as well as the structure of the sport courts, this was a very physically taxing and important part of Mayan culture.” (Blümchen). Although the exact rules of the game are unknown to this day, historians have made certain hypothesis as too how it was played. The game was played in large courts found all over Central America and as far north as Arizona. Diagonally arched balls surrounded the court with rings at the top of each wall. “Evidence suggests that different types of games, all played with a rubber ball, existed in ancient Mesoamerica, but the most widespread was the "hip game". This was played by two opposing teams, with a variable number of players. The aim of the game was to put the ball into the opponent's end zone without using hands or feet: but only hips could touch the ball.” (Nicoletta). The simplicity of the game was easily overwhelmed by the rewards and consequences for the winners and losers. The winners of the ball game would be regarded too as heroes in Early Mayan and MesoAmerican societies whereas the losers were likely used for human sacrificing rituals that upheld the religious beliefs of it’s society. In this case the phrase, “win or go home,” seems like a good compromise compared to the’ “win or be sacrificed,” reality of their culture. On the opposite side of the world the Han dynasty of Ancient China developed what is regarded as the first form of Soccer in the world. The game was called, Cuju, and was developed around 200 B.C.. “During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. -220 A.D.), cuju was not only the recreational activity of the general public, but also an important means of military training.” (Cuju). Military personnel would fight to keep possession of the ball similar to the sport of soccer, to teach them the ways to control their enemy in combat. Unlike modern day soccer, Cuju, did not have goals, the main purpose to keep possession of the ball from the enemy team. After the reign of the Han Dynasty, the introduction of two goals on either side of the playing field was introduced which made the game very similar to modern day soccer. FIFA is the reigning power over modern day soccer in the world and the president gave the rights of the invention of the game to this game known as, Cuju, and the Han Dynasty in 2004. Soccer is now the most popular sport in the world. The first ever sport that used a ball that was too be played in the Olympics is what is known as modern day Polo. Polo was said to have originated in the Ancient Persian Empire under the rule of Alexander the Great. Although the sport has been around for thousands of years, it was not an official Olympic sport until the year 1900. Polo was the first sport played with a ball to integrate the use of riding on horseback. Players would ride on horseback with long sticks with blunt ends and hit the grounded ball into the enemy’s goal. “The unique blending of athletic talents between horse and rider helped polo evolve into The Sport of Kings.” (Siddha). This enunciation derived from King Darius sending Alexander the great a Chaugan stick and ball as too say this is what you should be doing rather than conducting war. Although, the history books show how great of a ruler Alexander became compared to Darius who was murdered shortly thereafter. The most prominent of the world’s modern day sports also has the most storied history and extended roots. There are all kinds of crazy theories to the beginning of the game as we know it today. There is a story of Ancient European days where, “The villagers killed the pirates, cut off one of their heads, and kicked it around. That's the story, at least.”(Helmer). But there is an officially recorded origin of soccer, which was pronounced in 2004. As we learned earlier the first credited invention of what came to be, soccer, was invented in China and their game, Cuju. “Recorded facts also support the fact that Romans and Greeks used to play ball for fun and frolic. Some facts point to Kyoto in Japan where kicking of ball was a popular sport.”(H. of Soccer). Although the history of soccer started with only allowing the kicking of a ball, it evolved into much more than that before it returned too it’s roots. Early versions of the game allowed players to carry the ball and keep it all costs. They could even punch and gouge other players. Early versions of modern day soccer were very brutal and displayed aspects of modern day rugby. When and where the known game, soccer, actually started is much of an unknown although there is documented history on the claim. “The contemporary history of the world's favourite game spans more than 100 years. It all began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football branched off on their different courses and the Football Association in England was formed - becoming the sport's first governing body.” (FIFA). In 1863, 11 founders of European clubs met to develop a set of rules and guidelines that all players must follow and abide by. In 1869, Soccer, also known as futbol, became completely independent of rugby by eliminating the allowance of handling the ball with your hands. The official governing body of soccer known as FIFA, was officially created and credited with the emergence of the World Cup in 1930. Today Soccer is played on seven continents of the world and has the largest following of any sport in the world. Cricket, is close behind soccer as the second most followed sport in the world with 2-3 billion fans. “The origins of cricket lie somewhere in the Dark Ages - probably after the Roman Empire, almost certainly before the Normans invaded England, and almost certainly somewhere in Northern Europe.” (Littlewood). The game derived from the simplicity of one person tossing up and object such as a ball and another person hitting it with a stick. There is evidence of modern day cricket being played as far back as the 1600’s. The first known International matches were played in 1844 but the game that is known today was fully developed with rules and guidelines in the year 1877 in England with its counterpart, soccer. By 1910 Cricket had become a world wide event and had countries involved from 3 continents, and it’s astronomical growth continued and continues still to this day. The third largest sport in the world is the first sport on our list that has a large foundation and following the United States. Basketball also has 2-3 billion followers worldwide, most of which reside in the United States, China, Canada and the Philippines. “The First basketball type game may have been played by the early Olmec people of ancient Mexico as early as 500 years go. The Aztec, and Mayan cultures also had a game similar to basketball, only instead of a rubber ball they used the decapitated skulls of their conquered foes.” (Faurschou). But the reason we add basketball to the list is it’s known modern origin coming from here at home in the United States. The first true basketball game that we know today was played January 20, 1897, in Springfield Massachusetts. A Canadian doctor known as James Naismith created the game to be played by YMCA youth during the winter months. Basketball is the first sport we have covered to be played indoors and it was invented as such because of the harsh conditions of winter and the inability to play other sports during the winter months. In the first derivation of the game the ball could not be bounced as it is now in modern day basketball, but the goal was the same to put the basketball in the enemy teams net. In 1901 colleges started putting together teams to compete against other Universities. Ivey League institutions such as Yale and Harvard pioneered this movement. That same year Yale would win ten of its fourteen games to win the first ever College National Championship. The game quickly evolved from here to become a professional and worldwide event. Today there are around 2.5 billion followers of basketball and an official World Cup held by FIBA. Notice the similarity to Soccer’s FIFA, as the foundation and guidelines are identical between the organizations. The second American Sport is Baseball, which is regarded as the eighth most followed sport in the world. Baseball is widely known as “America’s favorite pastime,” and was much more popular than basketball in the United States for nearly the entire 20th century. Baseball’s origins are widely disputed due to its similarity to cricket but there are speculations made by historians to the origination. “A popular myth believes that Abner Doubleday set up the basic rules of baseball way back in 1839. Alexander Cartwright is said to codify baseball rules with his New York Knickerbockers. A book called Baseball by Alexander and a documentary based upon it by filmmaker Ken Burns suggests that it was Alexander who first codified the game rules.” (Jezek). Baseball never got the international following that basketball and soccer got due to its similarity to the European game of cricket. Although, Baseball does have a worldwide organization and a World Baseball classic where many South American, Central American, and Asian countries compete to be the best in the world. More Americans play the game of baseball as youth and professionally than any other sport in the world, which is why it has definitely earned, it’s nickname of “America’s favorite pastime.” The last sport we will cover is the only one that does not use a spherical shaped ball. American Football Is the most economically prosperous sport in the United States. The day of the Super Bowl, which is the pinnacle of the NFL, has widely become a National holiday and is the most money making day for Sports in the United States by a long shot. The origins of American football derived from another European game known as rugby. American football made the game of rugby a little bit more violent but added pads and a helmet to the equation for each player to wear. American Football is the by far the most recent of the American sports to take hold of the American public but it has all but taken over. In 1922 The NFL was created which now has 32 teams worth an average of 996 million dollars. As did other American born sports, Football was played first as an intercollegiate contest that quickly grew in popularity to become the huge entity that it is today. The history of sport is a widespread cultural property that has completely consumed that minds of billions of the world’s people. The sporting culture has provided an outlet for depression and hard times as well as a perfect every day entertainment facility. Today across the world college sports as well as professional sports have a huge economic impact. “College American football and men's basketball are the largest revenue generators in college athletics, and boosters tout the economic benefits of athletic programs as an incentive for cities to construct new sports facilities at considerable public expense.” (Baade). Because of this huge economic growth that sports have brought around the world even at the collegiate level, the numbers seem to keep looking up for the number of supporters that the sports industry will retain and gain. Sport began in Ancient days as a ritualistic and religious practice and even had uses of military training. Modern day team sports that utilize a ball have become one of the modern world’s largest entertainment industries and will continue to expand for years to come.

Works Cited
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(Blümchen) Blümchen, Gerhard. "The Maya Ball Game." Cardiology 113.4 (2009): 231. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 4 May 2015.
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(Faurschou) Bran, Faurschou. "The History of Basketball." The History of Basketball. 2 Oct. 2004. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://nbahoopsonline.com/Articles/History1.html>.
(FIFA) "Classic Football." FIFA.com. FIFA, 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/the-game/origins.html>.
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(Helmer) Helmer, Diana Star, and Tom Owens. The History Of Soccer. New York: PowerKids Press, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 4 May 2015.
(Jezek) Jezek, Geno. "History Of Baseball." History Of Baseball. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://www.historyofbaseball.us>.
(Littlewood) Littlewood, AR. "A Brief History of Cricket." Cricinfo. ESPN, 6 Mar. 2006. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/239757.html>.
(Nicoletta) Maestri, Nicoletta. "Ancient Mesoamerican Ball Game Origins and Gameplay." Ancient MesoAmerican Ball Game. 12 Feb. 2007. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://archaeology.about.com/od/mameterms/a/Mesoamerican_Ball_Game.htm>.
(Siddha) Siddha. "The History of Polo." The History of Polo. Polo Museum. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://www.polomuseum.com/history_of_polo.htm>.