Most sports developed either gradually over time or by modification of another sport. Soccer, cricket, baseball and polo are of the first type; American football, softball, ice hockey, and netball are of the second.
But then there’s the third type where someone sits down and invents a new game more or less ab inito. Basketball and volleyball are the two best known of this kind. Korfball, which I understand is popular in parts of Europe, is another. Are there any others?
I’m mainly interested in sports that are fairly widely played and have some organization and standardized rules.
Angleball, not to be confused with the octagonal table pool game of the same name, or video game versions of it, is sometimes played intramurally or in summer camps:
As those articles note, the game was devised by Penn State football coach Rip Engel as an aerobic workout for off-season players. It was possible at one time to buy a specialized piece of equiptment for the goal instead of the length of PVC pipe, the funnel, and the basketball shown in the picture. The ready-made goal had the target ball on a chain, with a crank on the side of the post, making it easier to set it up again after somebody scored. IIRC, some people also called it “Engelball” after its inventor.
The game of Tennis as we know it today was essentially invented in December 1873 by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, and certainly meets the OP’s criteria of popularity and organization.
Although there existed – and still exists – a game called “tennis” (aka Real Tennis in the UK, Court Tennis in the US, Royal Tennis in Australia, and Jeu de Paume in France) which dates back to medieval times and is played in a walled court, Wingfield’s game (which he called “Sphairistiké”) was to be played outdoors on a grass court. The rules of Wingfield’s game were greatly simplified compared to the medieval antecedent, and the rackets and balls are notably different.
Wingfield patented his invention in 1874, but apparently did not succeed in enforcing the patent. The rules of what came to be called “Lawn Tennis” (and later just “Tennis”) have been essentially unchanged since 1873, although the original court surface – grass – is rarely found nowadays, and scoring modifications such as tie-breaks have been added. The first Championships at the All-England Club in Wimbledon were played in 1877, and continue to this day. The first US National Championships were played in Newport, RI in 1881.
I think Wu-Shu might qualify. True, it is based upon chinese martial arts, but none specifically. It takes a lot of the skills and turns them into gynastics style floor routines (definitely not forms or kata).
I would make the case that Ultimate is based on the rules of American football. The token that’s passed around is different, and there isn’t the running, but other than that, it’s pretty similar.
They’re not too common outside of playgrounds, but how about Tetherball or Funnelball?
I’m gonna agree with Crandolph about Ultimate. Came around in the '60s and is unlike any other sport out there.
Maybe paintball as well? Dan Guerny and Hayes Noel and I think one other guy started it as a “The Most Dangerous Game”* kind of thing then realized they could make a lot of money selling equipment and setting up fields.
*As in the short story, not implying that you’re extremely likely to get injured playing. You’re not, it’s quite safe really.
They both have rectangular fields with end zones, sure. But I can’t think of a single rule in game play that has any resemblance to football.
Play is continuous, contact isn’t allowed, teams are 7 to a side, the frisbee can be thrown in any direction, contact and picks are forbidden, fouls are dealt with much like those in soccer, points are scored one at a time, so on and so forth.
OK, we have Ultimate Frisbee, Paintball, and Angleball. From the descriptions on-line, I’m not sure about Wu-shu, either. It doesn’t seem to have a single person inventor, although that’s not strictly necessary, I suppose.
Australian Rules Football was invented to keep cricket players in shape during the off-season. It’s debatable whether Australian Rules is sufficiently different from other forms of football to qualify as an “invention”, but I’d lean towards the “yes” side in such a debate.