HANDBALL – THE SPORT
HISTORY
Handball, or some sport throwing or hitting an object against a wall, is probably the oldest sport in the world. It is thought to be an ancient game although documentation doesn’t tell us if it resembled our modern version of handball.
Our modern game of handball emigrated from Ireland to New York City and the east coast in the 1830s and 1840s. The Irish used a hard ball on non standard courts but many were 30’ wide and 60’ long. In England the game was known as “fives”. The game developed further around the 1900s when a softer tennis type ball was used. Hardball and softball handball coexisted for about 20 to 30 years. One wall and three wall courts originated in America so today we have one-wall, 3-wall and 4-wall handball games.
Phil Casey emigrated from Ireland and built the first 4-wall court in America. He was a champion player and is known as the father of modern handball in the U.S.
In 1860 Abe Lincoln, a young lawyer, was playing handball behind their law office in Springfield, Illinois, when he got word from the Republican National Convention he had been nominated to run for president. Pictured is the Abe Lincoln handball. It was found in a dresser drawer when Lincoln's Springfield home was being restored in the 1950s. Today the handball is in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
An account in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society puts the future president in an alley off the public square in Springfield, Ill., in 1859 "vigorously engaged in the sport as though life depended upon it."
Up until 1950, early handball rules were governed by the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) and the standard 4 wall court size set at 20x20x40. In 1950, Bob Kendler organized the United States Handball Association (USHA) in Chicago, Illinois. Today the USHA is the voice and governing body of handball and is located in Tucson, Arizona. The USHA publishes handball magazine and runs the collegiate tournaments. There are Pro Men’s and women’s tournaments but handball remains largely an amateur sport. Click on the USHA button for collegiate handball information and much other handball information. http://www.ushandball.org/
For handball rules click on: http://www.ushandball.org/officialrules.html
HANDBALL IN MINNESOTA
Handball came to Minnesota through the YMCA organization when YMCAs were built in St. Paul and Minneapolis in the early 1900s. Following were athletic clubs in St. Paul and Minneapolis and YMCAs in cities like Winona, Mankato, Duluth and Rochester.
Several national handball champions have come out of Minnesota.
The Minnesota State Handball Association (MSHA) was organized in 1975. Today the MSHA is the governing body for Minnesota handball and runs all the Minnesota state handball tournaments. Click on the MSHA web site button for upcoming tournaments, recent tourney results, player rosters and past state handball championship history.