Various forms of sport and physical education have been around since the late 1400’s and have only gained momentum and recognition in the centuries that followed. A German, Johann Bernard Basedow, was one of the first men to recognize the importance of physical activity in school curriculum. His reasons for deeming physical education important stemmed from nationalism more than anything else. Germany had been soundly defeated in the Napoleonic wars. So, he developed his system with the hopes of creating strong, sturdy and fearless youth who would help secure Germany's freedom and could defend the Fatherland from outside forces.

A friend and follower of Friedrich Jahn, Charles Beck, along with his friend, made his way to Switzerland, France and eventually America. Beck hence became the first official Physical Education teacher in America in 1825.

The History Of American Physical Education
Attempts to establish a profession of physical education were evident even before the initial meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Physical Education in 1885. In the mid to late nineteenth century, physical education emerged from a variety of other professional sources. It was incorporated into the the programs of most public schools and colleges.

The emergence of the National Education Association, and the inclusion of articles on health and physical training in journals such as the Journal of American Education and the New England Journal of Education illustrated in part the desire of educators to improve the health of children. Local and state medical journals, including the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal and the New York Medical Journal, included articles on physical training in the 1870s and 1880s. The influence of the medical profession on physical education was evidenced in part by the fact that many of the initial leaders of physical education were M.D.s. Gymnastics were introduced into the schools in the years just prior to and following the Civil War. Amherst College, in 1861, appointed Edward Hitchcock to what is generally recognized as the first professorship in Hygiene and Physical Education in the United States.

Programs for the preparation of "professional" physical educators emerged during these years as well, the first school of which was the Dioclesian Lewis's Normal Institute of Physical Education in 1861.

At its initial meeting in November of 1885, the Association for the Advancement of Physical Education included discussions, speeches, demonstrations and basic organizational matters. Attendees at the first meeting included physicians, both male and female; school principals and headmasters, social scientist, and a college president, Harvard's Charles W. Eliot.

In 1897 the Society of Directors of Physical Education in college was organized, one of its goals being to promote a professional spirit among its members. The Association of Directors of Physical Education for Women was formed in 1910. The Athletic Research Society was founded in 1907 and by 1928 became the Research Section of the APEA.

As the United States prepared to enter the First World War, physical educators contributed in a number of ways. Following the War, a program of natural activities in physical education came to the fore. This "New" physical education was based on biological, psychological, sociological and educational foundations. In 1927, a pamphlet entitled The Objectives of American Physical Education Association, 1885-1927 appeared, setting forth the framework/curriculum that leaders of the APEA saw as a necessary guide for the increasing number of undergraduate and graduate level programs in physical education.

The stock market crash and the depression years impacted the profession of physical education as courses outside of the "3 R's" were curtailed in many districts. With the coming of the Second World War, sport and recreation activities in physical education programs were phased out as the demand for physical fitness activities grew.