The Need for a New Ball
When William G. Morgan invented volleyball in 1895 (originally known as Mintonette), there was one obvious problem: there was no volleyball.
Players started with the inner bladder of a basketball. Without an outer shell, it was too light and it didn't hold its shape, making it unpredictable. Morgan realized that the game needed its own special ball. So he approached A.G. Spalding & Bros., a sporting goods manufacturer in Chicago. Spalding had recently created the first football and basketball, so Morgan knew they’d be perfect to help him figure out the specific features.
The First Real Volleyball
The result, introduced around 1900, was simple by today's standards but innovative for its time: a rubber bladder wrapped in a stitched leather layer.
While a necessary start, these volleyballs came with limitations. Leather absorbed moisture, which meant the ball got heavier as a match wore on, especially outdoors or in humid gyms. The stitched seams were rough on players' hands, and manufacturing consistency was hit or miss depending on the batch.
Despite this, these early volleyballs supported a design that is still used today: an outer shell made of panels, wrapped around an inner bladder that holds air.
No Room for Inconsistency
As volleyball's popularity grew, inconsistency became a real problem as formal athletes emerged and leagues formed. The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) stepped in and began standardizing ball size, weight, and internal pressure.
Finally, a player could trust that the ball would behave the same way every time they stepped on the court. That consistency is part of what let volleyball develop into the fast-paced, widespread sport it is today.
Mikasa and Molten
The biggest leap in the ball's history came when manufacturers moved away from leather altogether.
By the 1970s, Japanese manufacturers Mikasa and Molten were driving that shift toward synthetic materials. Molten had already earned official FIVB ball approval, and Mikasa was expanding globally.
Synthetic covers solved leather's biggest weaknesses. The new balls were lighter, more durable, and mostly unaffected by moisture, which meant a ball used in the fifth set felt the same as it did in the first.
The Next Step in Innovation
It’s easy to take any piece of sports gear for granted and not consider all the stages of development it had to go through. But when you think about it, the reason volleyball (the sport) is played at such a high level is largely because of the aerodynamicism and lightness of the ball.
As players dive harder, move faster, and hit stronger, the gear they use and train with has to keep up with them. The best equipment adjusts to the competitive nature of the sport, rather than limiting how athletes play.
The ball has been refined for well over a century to improve control, consistency, and feel. The rest of the equipment on the court, knee pads included, is only now starting to get the same level of attention.
Sources
AVP Beach Volleyball. (n.d.). History of the Wilson ball. Retrieved July 2026, from https://avp.com/news/history-of-the-wilson-ball/
FIVB. (n.d.). History – FIVB. Retrieved July 2026, from https://www.fivb.com/volleyball/the-game/history/
International Volleyball Hall of Fame. (n.d.). The real history of volleyball. Retrieved July 2026, from https://www.volleyhall.org/history-of-volleyball.html