 Game of Newcomb ball in action, 2015 | |
| Highest governing body | National Newcomb Advisory Committee (now defunct) |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Nuke 'em |
| First played | 1895
|
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Team members | Up to 20 per team |
| Type | male and female |
| Equipment | Similar to volleyball |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | No |
| World Games | No |
Newcomb ball (also known simply as Newcomb, and sometimes spelled Newcombe (ball))[Note 1] is a ball game played in a gymnasium or court using two opposing teams and a net. Newcomb ball and the sport of volleyball were both created in 1895 and are similar in their design. The sport rivaled volleyball in popularity and participation by the 1920s.[1] The sport of throwball may be a possible relative.
Newcomb ball was invented in 1895 by Clara Baer, a physical education instructor at Sophie Newcomb College, Tulane University in New Orleans. The sport is one of a rare number of sports which have been created by women and is of historical significance in American sport, not only for having been invented by a woman, but also for becoming the second team sport to be played there by women after basketball.[2] In 1996, an article in the Journal of Sport History written by Joan Paul speculated that Newcomb ball may have preceded the creation of volleyball and may have influenced its development.[2]
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- ^ Dale A. Somers, The Rise of Sport in New Orleans, 1850-1900 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972),
- ^ a b "Paul, Joan, "A Lost Sport: Clara Gregory Baer and Newcomb Ball", Journal of Sport History, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Summer 1996)" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-01-26.