The History of Sport

According to the history books, sports dates back to thousands of years ago. It was used as a way of training for war or hunting, which is why a lot of sports involved wrestling and throwing items such as stones and spears. Ancient Greece created the Olympic Games in 776 BC and introduced professional sports to the world with events such as chariot racing, javelin throwing and wrestling. Take a look at the evolution of some sports we know and love today.

Below is a timeline of some of the most well-known athletic sports including when and where they began.

Today's Sports

Football

Classical

Ancient Rome - 500 BC

China - 300 BC

Source: Wikipedia - Cuju

Ancient Greece - 4th Century

Source: Wikipedia - Episkyros

Ancient Greece created a game called Episkyros which involved two teams of 12-14 players who would compete against each other using their feet and hands to pass the ball around. The ball was crafted from leather and filled with hair, as filling a ball with air was not introduced until the 7th century.

Italy - 15th Century

Source: Friendly Rentals - Calcio Storico Fiorentino, Hard Hitting Historical Football

Calcio Fiorentino originated in Italy in the middle ages and was thought to have begun in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. The game is played on sand with a central line dividing the pitch and has a goal at each end of the pitch. Once the game starts, there’ll be a first whistle as the ball first rests on the field, 15 players then begin fighting and wrestling each other in an attempt to pin and force as many players as possible into submission. When there are a enough players down, the other players grab the ball and head to the goal. The violence in the match has resulted in severe injuries and deaths.

Contemporary

Scotland - Early 19th Century

Source: Wikipedia - Timeline of Scottish Football

According to historian and founder of the Scottish Football Museum, Ged O’Brien, Scottish people may have been playing football for hundreds of years. Some North Scottish people played it in churchyards and then brought it to Glasgow when they founded the Queen’s Park Football Club in the 1860s. A few years later in 1873, the Scottish Football Association was founded.

England - 1863

Source: TheFA - The History of the FA

During the medieval times, the aim of the game was to get the ball to a certain area by kicking and carrying it across the field, resulting in a point being scored. When association football and Rugby football separated, the first official governing body for sport was created, known as the Football Association. Football as we know it today arose in 1863.

There are plenty of theories as to where football originated from, so after reading through the history of football we want to know what you think! Let us know your opinion and vote for the place where you think football began.

Other Sports History

Tug-of-War - 2500 BC

Source: The Tug of War Association

Golf - 15th Century

Source: Ancient Golf

Fun fact: King James II banned golf in 1457 due to the nation's love for golf making them neglect their military training.

Baseball - 18th Century

Source: CNN - Did Baseball Begin in 18th-Century England?

Although people have used bats to hit balls since ancient Egypt, baseball was invented from the idea of rounders and cricket in the 18th century. By the American Revolution, people were playing variations of baseball and the first baseball team began in 1845.

Fun Fact: Baseball was an Olympic sport from 1992 to 2008.

Rounders - 1744

Source: Wikipedia - Rounders

It is believed rounders originated from a game called stoolball, a game played on a field with markings using a bat and ball. The first mention of the game rounders was in “A Little Pretty Pocketbook” in 1744 but was named baseball. References to baseball were known in England before the term rounders, however it is said that rounders existed before baseball. The rounders rules were introduced in 1844 in Ireland and in 1943 the National Rounders Association was created.

Rugby - 1823