This page is primarily about how one duffer played the sport in the late 1970s. Correspondents have written about earlier greats of the sport, and about the sport's current popularity in New York and elsewhere.
I run the Queens Indoor paddleball Athletic Club and I have 2 places for paddleball indoors in Queens. One is for sessions on Tues and Thurs mornings 9AM-1PM the other is for Sundays 9AM-1PM. If you could list this on your site I am sure players would appreciate it. For more info they can call me Scott at 718 428-2261 or e mail me at<debrainc@aol.com > Thanks
I did find Paddleball mentioned in the on-Web course catalogs of Columbia University and CCNY. (links to be added here.)
Paddleball is played almost exclusively in New York City and Long Island, and in other places, like South Florida (as reported by a correspondent) where perhaps it has been exported by ex-New Yorkers. (A correspondent tells me it was played at a Jewish Community Center he used to frequent in Western Massachusetts; another reported playing this game in the northern midwest.)
Paddleball is not Racquetball, Paddles, Paddle Tennis, Canadian Paddle Ball, or the child's toy involving a paddle and a ball connected by elastic. (links to be added here.)
The closest sport would be either Raquetball or Handball.
An important supplier of equipment for the sport was Marcraft, in New Jersey. They may be out of business. The most recent equipment I obtained was imported by Mikasa, of Irvine California. I don't know if the Seamco balls (from the white, orange, and black cans) are still made. I would be most appreciative if anyone still in New York who can let me know what Modell's or similar stores are now selling
As of Fall 2004, Modell's (and the World Series championship) have come to Boston.
The court is 20 feet wide and 34 feet deep. The wall is 16 feet
high and should have a fence about 4 feet high on its top. The
short line is 16 feet from the wall. This leaves 18 feet between
the short line and the long line; served balls must land in this
zone. The service line is 9 feet behind the short line; the
server must stand between those two lines. The service line is
marked with lines at least 6 inches long. The sidelines are
continued about 3 feet behind the long line to help determine if
a served ball is long (a fault) or out (a side-out.)
The illustration (left) shows a pair of paddleball courts. There would be another pair on the other side of this wall. The fence at the top of the wall helps keep balls from being lost.
There is a short line about halfway from the wall to the baseline,
and the sidelines are extended a few feet past the baseline.
The service line is indicated by ticks about halfway between the
short line and the baseline, and indicates where the serving player must
stand when serving.
If there is a line a meter high running the width of the wall, ignore
it -- someone has been practicing tennis.
If there is a box a couple of feet wide, from knee-height to
shoulder-height at the middle of the wall, ignore it -- someone has
been playing two-person stickball.
The photo above shows some typical equipment. On the left is a Marcraft Black Beauty paddle, the best we used around 1977. Note the tape protecting the aluminum rim is starting to come off. On the right is a Marcraft paddle from around 1990. The top black ball is a Seamco model 550 (? 555 -- it came in a white and orange can.) The box below contained Mikasa blue balls.
Failure to do so results in a point, if the other player served, or a
side-out if the server fails.
The sidelines continue to the top of the wall.
If there is graffiti on the wall -- well, what do you expect?
The ball
The ball resembles a handball. It has a rubber surface, and is
harder and smaller than a tennis ball.
The paddles
The paddles are similar in size to a raquetball paddles (short-handled,
and intermediate in size between ping pong paddles and tennis rackets.)
They are made of wood (typically plywood) and perforated. There is no
webbing. The edge is protected with aluminum or tape or both. The handle
is usually wrapped in leather, and should be provided with a lanyard to
go around the player's wrist, which prevents the paddle from flying if the
player loses his grip.
Correspondents tell me that the lanyard is not used. It wasn't
much used when I played, but I'm sure that its use was required in
"official" rules. Correspondents tell me that some players switch
the paddle from hand to hand during play.
The service
The server must drop the ball to the ground, and hit it when it bounces.
The ball must strike the wall, and hit the court surface between the
short line and long line, and within the sidelines. If the ball
lands short or long, the server gets one additional attempt. If
the ball lands wide, or strikes the wall wide, the server is out.
The play
Each player in turn may hit the ball on-the-fly or after one bounce.
The ball must hit the wall, within the sidelines, on the fly, and
return, hitting the court surface between the sidelines and before
the baseline.
Winning
Play is usually to 11, 15 or 21 points, with two points required
to win. A score of 9 to nothing, for a 21-point game, might be
considered a shutout -- an automatic win.
