Newcomb featured in Spalding's Red Cover series of athletic handbooks in 1914 |
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| Highest governing body | National Newcomb Advisory Committee (now defunct) |
|---|---|
| First played | 1895 |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Equipment | Newcomb ball or volleyball, net |
Newcomb ball (also known simply as Newcomb, and sometimes spelled Newcombe (ball))1 is a ball game played as a variation of volleyball.
Invented in 1895 by Clara Gregory Baer, a physical education instructor at Sophie Newcomb College, Tulane University in New Orleans, it rivaled volleyball in popularity and participation in the 1920s.[1] The game is significant because it was invented by a woman and became the second team sport to be played by women in the United States, after basketball.[2] In an article in the Journal of Sport in 1996, Joan Paul speculates that Newcomb ball may have been an influence in the development of volleyball.[2]
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Baer invented the game of Newcomb as the result of an effort "to place before her students a game that could be easily arranged, could include any number of students, could be played in any designated time and in any available space".[3] The game was first publicised in an article by Baer in the Posse Gymnasium Journal, where the name "Newcomb" was first coined. A more detailed paper was later prepared for the American Physical Education Association, which was received with "hearty approval".[3] Baer first officially published a description of the game in 1895, together with the first book of rules for women's basketball.
Originally, Newcomb ball involved two teams placed facing each other in a small gymnasium, the object being for one team to "throw the ball into the other team’s area with such direction and force that it caused the ball to hit the floor without being caught."[2] This was called a “touch-down” and scored a point for the throwing team.
Baer published an official set of rules in 1910. These listed 22 separate rules and 16 fouls, with the major objective still being to score touch-downs by throwing the ball so that it hit the ground or floor on the opponent’s side of the court. The game was to be played with an official "Newcomb Ball" (size 1 for grammar grades and size 2 for high schools and colleges).
The playing area was divided by a "Division Line" into two equal halves. The height of the rope defining the Division Line varied from three to seven feet, according to the age of the players. Neutral zones called "Bases" were marked across the entire court, six to seven feet from the Division Line. The space between the Base and the end of the playing area was called the "Court".
The rules were defined as follows:[3]
The following were defined as fouls:[3]
The rules required that each team be represented by a Captain, elected by the team or appointed by the physical education instructor. In match games there was to be a referee, a time-keeper and an official scorer.[3]
A later set of Newcomb rules was published by Baer in 1914, and consisted of 14 rules with 79 sections.[4] By this time the Spalding sports equipment company marketed a "Newcomb Outfit" including ropes and wall-posts.[2] The rope divider was set at six feet for girls' games and eight feet when boys were playing. The revised rules allowed six to twelve players on each side and required both teams to agree on the number of participants at least a week prior to the game. The rules permitted up to twenty players in recreational and playground teams.
A 30-minute time limit, consisting of 15-minute halves, was prescribed for a Newcomb ball match, which could be altered with agreement between the teams before the game began. The rules were also changed so that a point was scored for each foul and the ball awarded to the team fouled, rather than taking the ball back to the center base area for a jump-ball between captains.[2]
Around 1911 Baer established a Newcomb game advisory committee. Members included Baroness Rose Posse, President of the Posse Normal School of Gymnastics, Boston, Massachusetts; Miss Ethel Perrin, Supervisor of Physical Training, Detroit Public Schools; Mrs. Fannie Cheever Burton, Associate Professor of Physical Education, State Normal College, Ypsilanti, Michigan; Miss Mary Ida Mann, Instructor, Department of Hygiene and Physical Education, University of Chicago; John E. Lombard, Director of Physical Training, New Orleans Public Schools; and Otto F. Monahan, Physical Director, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut.[2]
Today Newcomb ball is not widely played on a competitive basis, but remains a popular game for people with limited athletic ability or those with certain disabilities or as a simple introduction to volleyball. It has also become popularized in many northern New England summer camps. The sport teaches children the fundamentals of volleyball and is beneficial in promoting the development of hand-eye coordination and motor skills. There is evidence of the game being played in the United States,[5] Canada,[6] Mexico,[7] China,[8] Argentina[9] and Australia.[10]
One version of Newcomb ball rules today is:
"Two teams each having 9 to 12 players on the court at a time. Play begins with the server from the serving team throwing the ball over the net to the opponents. The ball remains in play being thrown back and forth across the net until there is a miss. Three players may play the ball before throwing it over the net. If the receiving team misses, the serving team scores a point and the next play begins with the same server. If the serving team misses, it loses the serve. No point is scored for either team and the next play begins with the opponents as the serving team. Each time a team wins a point, the same server serves for the next play. Each time a team wins the serve, players on that team rotate and remain in the new position until the serve is lost and won back again. The first team scoring 11 points or a set time limit wins the game."[11]
Throwball, played in India, is very similar to Newcomb ball.
Prisoner ball is a variation of Newcomb ball where players are "taken prisoner" or released from "prison" instead of scoring points.[12]
Popularized by President Herbert Hoover, Hooverball is played with a volleyball net and a medicine ball; it is scored like tennis, but the ball is caught and then thrown back as in Newcomb ball. The weight of the medicine ball can make the sport physically demanding. Annual championship tournaments are held annually in West Branch, Iowa.[13]
Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert describes the details of a game he calls "Scottyball" with rules very similar to Newcomb ball on his blog.[14]
Newcomb ball is sometimes spelled and pronounced "Nuke 'em" ball.[14]
Another local variation of Newcomb ball is played on a beach volleyball court with two players per team. The game is played to 11 (must win by 2), and points are awarded following college volleyball rules (e.g. a side must serve to score). The game is played at a faster pace than in the playground variant, and rewards speed, strategy, and positioning.
Basic rules prohibit leaping off the ground while throwing, holding the ball for more than three seconds, and blocking or tapping the ball back over the net on a return. Passing between teammates or moving while in possession of the ball are both prohibited (though pivoting is allowed). A player who dives or falls making a catch must throw from his or her knees. Service is delivered from the back line.
Newcomb ball is also known as cachibol in Spain, Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries.[15]
1 As the game is named after Sophie Newcomb College, its name has been typically capitalized.