William George Morgan (January 23, 1870 – December 27, 1942) was the inventor of volleyball, originally called "Mintonette", a name derived from the game of badminton which he later agreed to change to better reflect the nature of the sport.

[1] He was born in Lockport, New York, U.S.[2] He met James Naismith, inventor of basketball, while Morgan was studying at Springfield College in 1892.

Influenced by Naismith and basketball, in 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Morgan invented "Mintonette" a less vigorous team sport more suitable for older members of the YMCA but one that still required athletic skill.

[5] With Morgan being the Director, it allowed him to devise workout plans and teach sports in depth to the young male adults.

As he worked as the Director of Physical Education at the YMCA in Holyoke, he noticed the game of basketball was not meant for everyone to play.

A young A.G. Spalding & Bros. equipment designer and master marine cloth tailor, Dale Callaghan, developed and produced the first prototype volleyball.

In preparation for his big debut, Morgan created 2 teams of 5 men, who would help in demonstrating “Mintonette” in front of the conference delegates in the East Gymnasium at Springfield College.

Morgan continued to tweak the rules of the game until July 1896, where his sport was added into the first official handbook of the North American YMCA Athletic League.

He stayed in touch with Springfield College and stated that he was "content in the knowledge that the game brought a richer life to millions of people throughout the world.