A vintage illustration featuring an 18th Century game of cricket being played at the Artillery Ground, in Finsbury.

1881: British tennis player William Renshaw and H F Lawford playing for the Men’s Singles Title at Wimbledon, which Renshaw won. Original Publication: The Graphic (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Chinese ladies playing Cuju, by the Ming Dynasty painter, Du Jin.

Zhuang Zedong (right) leads China to victory in the 1961 World Table Tennis Championship.

Ancient Roman athletes play handball.

Sioux playing Ball. Oil on canvas, by Charles Deas. Courtesy of Wikimedia.

Benny Friedman wins against Ohio State for Michigan| UM Bentley Library.

Woman golfing, 1920.

The players used peach basket in the original version of the game.

Baseball player catching baseball before gloves were introduced officially to the game.

Members of Washington’s Chinese Youth Club play 9-man volleyball in Washington in 1952. This version usually played on city streets with rules stressing players’ Chinese heritage, draws hundreds to tournaments.