Clara Gregory Baer (August 27, 1863 – January 19, 1938) was an American

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

instructor and

women's sports The participation of women and girls in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, ...

pioneer. Baer introduced the first teacher certification course for physical education in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, and authored the first published rules of

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

. She also developed the sport of

Newcomb ball Newcomb ball (also known simply as Newcomb, and sometimes spelled Newcombe (ball))As the game is named after Sophie Newcomb College, its name has been typically capitalized. is a ball game played in a gymnasium or court using two opposing teams ...

and played a role in the early development of

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

Early life

Baer was born in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

to Hamilton John Baer, and Ellen Douglas Riley. She attended secondary school in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and then attended the Emerson School of Oratory, the Boston School of Expression, and the Posse Normal School of Physical Education, all in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. After college, she returned to the South, initially invited by the Southern Athletic Club to teach gymnastics to women. At the time, the Club was an all-male club, although wives, sisters and daughters were permitted to use the club once a week for Baer's lesson. Baer decided to contact the president of

Newcomb College H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. ...

, now part of

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, to inquire about the possibility of a job teaching physical education to students. She was hired on a trial basis, as physical education was not yet an established part of the curriculum. Her position was made permanent, and she eventually completed a 38-year career in

and teacher training. Baer was hired by the

Sophie Newcomb College H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. ...

to start a physical education department in 1891. She started the first teacher certification program in the South, as well as the first four-year degree program in physical education. The teacher certification program was established in 1893, and the degree program was initiated in 1907.

Women's sports

Baer is best known as the author of the first book of rules for

in 1896 Baer also created

around roughly the same period. Although

Senda Berenson Senda Berenson Abbott (March 19, 1868 – February 16, 1954) was a figure of women's basketball and the author of the first Basketball Guide for Women (1901–07). She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor on July 1, 198 ...

introduced basketball to

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

in 1892, Berenson did not publish her version of the rules until 1899, so Baer is credited with the first publication of rules for women's basketball. As Baer noted: Baer first called the game '

basquette Six-on-six basketball or basquette is a largely archaic variant of basketball, usually played by women and girls. It is played with the same rules as regular basketball, with the following exceptions: #Teams have six players each instead of five; ...

', a name later dropped in her first revision of rules called

Basketball Rules published in 1908. Players were not allowed to dribble, guard, or snatch the ball. Players were not allowed to make two-handed passes, as it was believed that this type of pass could compress the chest. The game she described had a court with seven divisions, and players were not allowed to move out of their designated region. This restriction developed out of a misunderstanding. Baer had written to

James Naismith James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he wrote ...

, asking for a copy of the rules of the game he invented. Naismith had sent her a copy, including a diagram of the court. The diagram had dotted lines on it, indicating where players were best able to cover. She interpreted the lines as restrictions on where the players could move. As a result, the first rules for women contained these restrictions. Baer described the jump shot as well as a one-handed shot, notable because neither of these shots would make an appearance in the men's game prior to 1936. Several of Baer's innovations were included in the first unified rules of women's basketball and were published in 1901. The errors Baer had made as a result of her misunderstanding of Naismith's rules package became ratified into the rules for women’s basketball in 1899 and proliferated which also resulted in the creation of a new and separate sport called "

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

", still played today primarily in

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

nations.

Newcomb ball

As a physical education instructor at Newcomb College in

, she also invented the game "

", now played as a variation of

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. Baer had ordered some baskets to play basketball, but the baskets had not yet arrived, so she decided to create a substitute sport. In a letter to the Posse Gymnasium Journal, she described the basic elements of the game, consisting of a court divided at the midpoint, with lines marking where the players could move, and outlining the object of the game, to "make the ball touch the opposite ground, beyond the base—when it counts a point for the side sending the ball". This game would eventually become Newcomb ball, and has many similarities to the game of volleyball. The letter by Baer appeared in the January, 1895 edition of the journal, while the first game of volleyball, invented by

William G. Morgan 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. H ...

was reported to be first played in February 1895. Her rules of basquette also played a pivotal role in the early development of

Physical education

Baer delivered an address to the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

in 1914, summarizing the "History of the Development of Physical Education At Newcomb College". In her address she listed the course available at the school: # " e regular practical work of the gymnasium, including hygienic, corrective, medical, and aesthetic gymnastics." # " theory course. This is a lecture course including personal and general hygiene, voice culture and expression. The department is closely allied with that of biology; and in certain years the lectures include the study of exercises from the standpoint of biology." # " training course for teachers providing technical instruction in kinesiology and allied subjects, with practice in teaching. This course is designed to meet the needs of those students who wish to specialize in physical education." # " extension course for teachers in connection with the regular extension work of Tulane University."

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baer, Clara Gregory Creators of sports 1863 births 1938 deaths American non-fiction writers Writers from Louisiana Writers from New Orleans American women's basketball coaches Netball people History of basketball History of netball