The history of tennis and the high jump shows us that major innovations may emerge from small and insignificant facts. However, we also discover that innovation is only one step in a chain of events and changes in material and cultural conditions.
Tennis: The Overhand Serve
Originally, tennis players used a leather or cork ball and used their hands or leather gloves as rackets. It was played in narrow, indoor courts with a net much higher than nowadays. Around the 16th century, the racket was in common use, but given this context, we can easily understand why the ball was put in play with a “spoon” or “underhand” serve and was then replaced by the “overhand” serve. How and why did this change take place?
In 1850, Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber, which made tennis balls bouncier. Possibly thanks to this development, in 1874, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield patented the equipment and rules of a version of primitive tennis that could be played outdoors on a lawn (lawn tennis), giving rise to modern tennis.
Until then, tennis had only been a pastime. This changed in 1877 when the first tennis Gentlemen’s Championship in Singles was held in Wimbledon. During the second championship, in 1878, something unusual happened. One player, Arthur Thomas Myers, hit the ball above his head. Hence, the overhand serve was created. Myers wasn’t very good at tennis, and his experiment didn’t succeed, but he drew attention, and by 1881, all top players were using this technique to give more speed and strength to their serve.
Players like Herbert F. Lawford or the Renshaw brothers improved the technique, and when, in 1882, the net height was set at the current three feet, the overhand serve became the most effective technique. This showy, agile, and fast style attracted more and more followers, though not everyone welcomed those “violent” serve contrary to the etiquette.
It was in the United States, however, where the overhand serve was definitely improved with harder and flatter strokes. Firstly, it was because American players were familiar with baseball, where the pitcher throws the ball with twists and effects. Secondly, concrete and asphalt courts were built on the west coast as low-maintenance alternatives. These hardcourts were ideal for the overhand serve, allowing taking full advantage of high bounces. Players like Maurice E. McLoughlin and Bill Tilden were recognized internationally for their spectacular serves.
Players like Herbert F. Lawford or the Renshaw brothers improved the technique, and when, in 1882, the net height was set at the current three feet, the overhand serve became the most effective technique. This showy, agile, and fast style attracted more and more followers, though not everyone welcomed those “violent” serve contrary to the etiquette.
It was in the United States, however, where the overhand serve was definitely improved with harder and flatter strokes. Firstly, it was because American players were familiar with baseball, where the pitcher throws the ball with twists and effects. Secondly, concrete and asphalt courts were built on the west coast as low-maintenance alternatives. These hardcourts were ideal for the overhand serve, allowing taking full advantage of high bounces. Players like Maurice E. McLoughlin and Bill Tilden were recognized internationally for their spectacular serves.
High Jump: The Fosbury Flop
In comparison with tennis, the high jump history is far less known. Most people only know one fact: Dick Fosbury revolutionized the high jump in 1968. His innovation consisted of a rotation after takeoff, turning his back towards the bar and, subsequently, landing on the mat on his back. Thanks to this new technique, Fosbury won the Olympic Gold medal, and since then, the “Fosbury Flop” is the dominant high jump style.
But how and why did this innovation occur? To find the answer, we must go back to the 19th century when the first recorded high jump event occurred.
The high jump was something simple. Competitors must jump over a bar supported by two vertical uprights without dislodging it. The jumper runs towards the bar to obtain impulse and takes off on one foot. In the early days, the jumpers used the scissors technique. However, modifications and variations of this style soon appeared. The first to succeed was the Eastern Cut-off, which, as the scissors, allowed the jumpers to land on their feet. This was important because, in that time, the landing surfaces were sandpits or low piles of sawdust and wood shavings. In those conditions, jumping with the Fosbury flop would have been madness.
Over the years, the jumping techniques continued to evolve, and the Eastern Cut-off led to the Western roll. This technique was, like the previous one, more elaborate than its predecessor, but ceased to be competitive when a change in the high jump rules took place in 1935. Until then, the “no diving” rule considered a fair jump where the head doesn’t go over the bar before the feet. When this rule was removed, the Western roll progressively evolved into the Straddle technique, and this is how Dick Fosbury started practicing the high jump.
Fosbury had difficulty using the Straddle technique and began experimenting with other styles. Fortunately for Fosbury, in the early 1960s, American colleges began to replace the landing surfaces with foam landing beds, which were softer and elevated 3 feet off the ground. This enabled the athletes to be more adventurous in their jumps. And it was precisely this that allowed Fosbury to achieve his famous jump.
In fact, Fosbury wasn’t the only jumper to have the idea of turning his back towards the bar. At the same time, in Canada, Debbie Brill developed a similar jump called the “Brill Bend”. However, Fosbury won the gold medal at the Olympics, obtaining all the media’s attention.
Conclusions
The tennis and high jump cases help us demystify the glamorous image of innovation. First, it’s not an isolated event, but rather the result of an evolution produced from little variations. Secondly, innovation takes place when material and cultural conditions make it feasible. In tennis, the vulcanized rubber balls, the net of three feet, hardcourts and the change from pastime to competition allowed the emergence of the spectacular cannonballs.
Dick Fosbury and Debbie Brill, in turn, would never have been able to perform their jumps without the changes in the high jump rules and the introduction of soft foam landing beds.
