Newcomb ball

Newcomb ball (also known as Newcomb+, and sometimes spelled Newcombe (ball) and Mamanet or Catchball) 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. 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 of Tulane University in New Orleans. The sport is one of a small number of sports created by women, and was the second team sport in the United States to be played by women (the first being basketball). 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.