Handball Games

Handball History

The first record of ball games with the hand is from 2000 B.C. in Egypt. Their priests of the temple of Osiris in Thebes were depicted on the tombs striking the ball with the hand. Such iconographic evidence is also found in America where ball games formed an integral part of Pre-Hispanic culture. Over 700 ball court sites have been identified from Arizona to Nicaragua. Many having sculptures, bas-reliefs and painted vessels. Showing people engaged in hand-played balls. The oldest are dated as far back as 1500 B.C., and interestingly in only one area is there play involving a wall that depicts the land of the Chichimeca people of the Mexican plateau. A one-wall game is still played in the States around Zacateca, where there are over 400 courts with most of the dimensions 12m x 6m – almost 40′ x 20′.

Alexander the Great (450 B.C.) is credited with spreading the game to the Greek colonies in Italy, and from there it went to Spain, France and to other parts of the Roman Empire. Around the year 1000 A.D., as Europe emerged from the Dark Ages, mention of handball became more numerous in manuscripts. In France Jeux de Paume (palm play) became popular with both the nobility in their enclosed courts and the ordinary people who played longe-paume on common land. The medieval annul of St. Foix written around 1300 A.D. describes the game. “The exercise consists in receiving the ball and driving it back again with the palm. The game was first played with the bare hand, then with the glove, lined or unlined; afterwards they bound cord or rattin around the hand to make the ball rebound more forcibly.”

So far there is no mention in any of the sources of a rebound game against a wall, the game played was one of hand-tennis and this is still played in parts of Spain, France, Holland and Sweden. The original ball used was made of tightly rolled cloth pieces stitched together and this would have given little bounce against a wall. The game of Jeux de Paume with the addition of larger and longer gloves finally became the game of tennis. The hand versus racquet controversy was commented on by Erasmus the Dutch Philosopher in 1524, “You may sweat more but the game is prettier when played with the hand.”

About this time, play with the hand against a wall is first mentioned in Scotland in 1427, when King James I paid a heavy price for his addiction to the game. He had given orders to his men to block up a cellar window that was interfering with his handball. A short time later he found that this escape route was cut off when the assassins came to murder him: “Alas in that vault a gap once was where through the King might have fled, but three days hence closed walled had it been by his will; for the ball would run therein when without at the palm he played.”

The history of handball in Ireland

The exact origins of handball are unknown but the game has been played for thousands of years in various countries. In Ireland, handball is said to be one of the oldest Irish sports dating back to the Tailteann Games, also known as funeral games, were athletic competitions held in honor of a recently deceased person. Although handball is known as an ancient Irish game, the earliest written records appeared in the Statutes of Galway in 1527 forbidding locals from playing the game against walls in the town.

By the 1800’s popularity for handball grew exceptionally, being played almost in every town and village in Ireland. Many of the landowners in Ireland supported the game and built ball courts on their land allowing players to participate in ball games.

As Irish people migrated to England they introduced handball using indoor “real” tennis courts where it’s thought the use of side-walls in the game was established. Returning Irish men brought the idea of side walls back to Ireland giving the game a new edge, sidewall courts became known as Fives Courts. However, locals were often forbidden from playing in the new style courts so they continued with their one-wall handball games.

TYPES OF IRISH HANDBALL

According to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) there are four variations of handball played in Ireland.

Four Wall (Small Alley)

The most popular game in Ireland and it’s played in a court similar to a squash or racquetball curt measuring 20ft x 40ft. To protect players from injury its compulsory to wear eye guards and gloves as the rubber ball can travel at 100mph during play. The four-wall season runs November through to April and its internationally played by 10 different countries.

One-Wall (Wall ball)

Can be played outdoor or indoor and with only needing a single wall for a match its a simplistic version of the game. The wall usually has a measurement of 20ft x 16ft and the ball is similar to a racquetball. The Irish season of One-wall is played from May to August. Played by over 33 countries the World Wall Ball Association was established with an aim to achieve Olympic status.

Softball (Big Alley)

Is recognized as the traditional game of handball in Ireland it was widely played outside during the summer months in a court measuring 60ft x 30ft. The ball is softer than the Small Alley ball so players are not required to wear eye or hand protection. The softball season is played from June to October.

Hardball

Is the oldest form of handball in Ireland. The ball is made from cork and leather so hand padding is required. Hardball is plated in a 60ft x 30ft court and the season is from May to June.

Hardball is the most ancient of our games in Ireland, and it is also played in the 60×30 court. As the name suggests, the ball used is small and hard, and is made from cork and leather. Padding on the hands is required due to the hardness of the ball that can travel at speeds over 100mph. The hardball season runs from May to June.

Handball is played today in University, County and Village Club teams in Ireland. However, many other teams from various countries around the world come together for the World Championships every 3 years.

Similar to all Irish sports, there are a select group of historic and present players of almost legendary status. Revered for their skills, many who currently play presently in Ireland, instruct various teams and partake in training sessions worldwide in attempts to maintain the popularity of the game.

AMERICAN HANDBALL

Handball in America was originally played against any blank wall or gable-end, but the game soon progressed to three-wall and four-wall alleys.  From the middle of the nineteenth century, Irish emigrants took the game with them across the Atlantic, where it attained tremendous popularity. In the 1880s, Casey, a prominent figure on the New York Stock Exchange, not only won the United States Championship, but built his own court, the first with a boarded floor and a back wall of glass. The renowned ‘Casey’s Court’ in Brooklyn. In America handball is play both indoors and outdoors, but in the Southwest due to the weather, handball is most popularly played on outdoor courts.

 

ETON FIVES

Eton Fives is a hard ball game played in a three-wall court, the design of the court having a bay is based on an area outside the chapel at Eton College where for centuries among the strange collection of ledges, steps, and drain-holes, boys played with bare hands and balls of varying size and hardness. The origin of the word ‘fives’ is uncertain, but it probably refers to the five fingers of the hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The modern fives ball is a composition of cork and rubber, painted white, and approximately the size of a golf ball.  Courts vary in dimension, but all have a ledge running across the front wall making a horizonal line 4ft. 6 in. (1.37 m) from the ground. Running across court is a shallow step 10 ft. (4.27 m) from the front wall, dividing the into an inner ort upper court and an outer or lower court. The lower court is 15 ft. 3 in. (4.65 m) in depth and 14 ft. (4.27 m.) wide. At the end of the step, projecting a from the left-hand wall, is a buttress (known as the ‘pepper box’).

In the game, one player guards the upper court and his partner guards the lower court. To start the game, the ball must be served with a toss to the opponent’s liking. Generally, it should bounce to shoulder height and tossed without sufficient spin to cause the ball to break its direction. Points are scored only by the serving side. A game is 12 points and a match is best of five games. If a game reaches 11-all, the game may be ‘set’ to three; at 10-all to three or five more points.

In 1840, the Headmaster of Eton, Dr Hawtrey, built the first block of four Eton Fives courts along the Eton Wick road. The design of these was based on, but was not an exact replica of, the chapel court. The walls were built of sandstone to reproduce the effect of the chapel walls, but the distance between the front wall and the buttress was increased and the slope of the floor reduced. These factors made the game both easier and faster. The side walls were extended, the buttress was increased in height and width but reduced in

depth. The step at the back of the court was probably a result of the courts being raised a few inches to avoid flooding. The modern courts are founded on Dr Hawtrey’s courts of 1840 with very few alterations, the exact dimensions being based on the 1840 courts after the decaying sandstone had been coated with one inch of cement. In 1871 twelve courts were opened on the site of the present day courts. After this the game spread rapidly. Courts were built at Harrow, Charterhouse, Highgate and Westminster in the next 20 years and over a dozen by various colleges at Cambridge between 1890 and 1900. A large number of open courts were also built in country houses all over England, but often these courts differed considerably from each other in dimensions and angles.

The Rules are Established

In 1877 A C Ainger, with several friends, drew up and published the ‘Rules of the Game of Fives as played at Eton’. The game has not always been played over five twelve-point games. In 1888 an Etonian pair beat Harrovian opposition by six games to none. In the return match that year they won by five games to none. The games were played up to 15 points, or 18 and 19 if scores were level at 13 and 14. Matches were best of seven until 1894. From then on, they settled down to the best of five. Sets were played up to 15 until shortly after the Second World War when 12 was introduced.

The First Schools Match

The first match between schools was on February 12, 1885, when Eton visited Harrow. Eton reigned supreme until 1900 when Harrow finally defeated them. The game was at a peak of popularity between 1890 and 1900. Other schools who played to a good standard were Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, Westminster, Highgate and Uppingham, and later Repton and City of London. Fives flourished until the First World War, but was largely confined to schoolboys and schoolmasters. In London the only court outside the schools was at the Queen’s Club. There was only one court at Oxford. The war did its best to kill the game but it survived thanks to a new set of players who were not content to end their playing days when they left school. Old boys’ (alums) clubs were started and another boom period began. Old Westminsters and Old Etonians in particular spread the gospel. The former sent sides touring all the schools and fives courts to be found in the country.

The First Competitions

Competitions soon followed. Lord Kinnaird gave a challenge cup to be competed for by pairs from the Old Boys clubs and in 1931 the title was altered to the ‘Amateur Championship for the Kinnaird Cup’. The first Oxford v Cambridge Varsity match took place in 1928 and the public schools handicaps started at the Queen’s Club in 1929, the forerunner of the Schools Championships. The Laws of Eton Fives, replacing Ainger’s rules, were published in March 1931 by the Eton Fives Association after consultation with all the fives-playing schools. The problem of local variations was thus largely eliminated. The Jesters Club started Eton Fives fixtures in 1931. The Queen’s Club Competition for old boys’ teams, precursor of the Alan Barber Cup, started the following year. Sixteen schools took part in the Public Schools Eton Fives Handicaps held between 1930 and 1932.

The Spread of Eton Fives

Like most English sport, the spread of Eton Fives followed the spread of the British Empire, English ‘Old Boys’ took their game to such far-off places as Australia, Malaya, Nigeria, and as near as English prep-schools in Zurich.

In its earliest form the game was probably played against a wall, often that of a local church.  Eventually the game was formalised at Rugby School (hence the name ‘Rugby Fives’) with courts of varying shapes and sizes being built. Official records go back to the 1920s, but there is plenty of evidence in schools of ‘Fives’ being play against church walls going back several centuries. Rugby Fives has flourished for nearly a century in the British Isles mostly in schools, universities, and some clubs.  The games can be played in either singles or doubles, games go to 15 points. To see the rules, download below. One unique characteristic of the Rugby Fives court unlike the Irish and American games is a one-inch thick board placed at a height of 2 ft. 6 in. set at the bottom of the front wall, striking the board is out-of-bounds, much like the tin in squash.

The Rules Click to download the rules of the game

BASQUE PELOTA-MAIN NUE

In the Basque region of Southeast France and Northeast Spain handball is played with bare hands on any sized court, but generally on four main types of courts; ‘fronton place libre’ an open-air court with a single wall, the ‘fronton’ and are the focal point of Basque villages, ‘fronton avec mur a gauche’ a covered open-air court with three-walls, the ‘trinquet’, an indoor court with four-walls, and large ali alai fronton.

 

 

 

 

 

Main nue en triquet (‘bare hand in a covered court) can be played in both singles and doubles. This is probably the most popular, as it is certainly the most interesting, form of bare hand pelota. The hazards of the four walls of the trinquet call for greater subtlety and a richer variety of strokes than the single wall place libre. Tactics are the basic ones of short, aimed ball that holes out in the grille, ricochets wildly from the tambor, or lodges in the penthouse net; or the long lob that rides the penthouse roof to ‘die’ un-takeably at the back wall. In the Basque countries the champion at main nu are the elite pilotaris, (pelota athletes) for, of all the corpus, this is the noblest and most demanding game.

KATTSEN OR ‘BALLE-PELOTE’

Kattsen in the Flemish part of Belgium or ‘Balle-Pelote’ in French is a three on three game of handball played outdoors where the ball is served underhand by striking it from a serving box, the opslagfach, into the receiving area, het perk, the park. The receiving team

will endeavor to send the ball as far as possible by striking it. If it goes beyond the upper line, the bovenlijn, then they win the point. If they fail to return the ball beyond the fore line, the foarline, then they lose the point. Likewise, the serving team endeavor to return the ball beyond the fore line to win the point. If the players fail to send the ball beyond these lines, and the ball comes to rest on the pitch between them, then a chase, kaats is marked at that point. The chase is a replaying of a point where each team attempts to win the chase by advancing the ball beyond the place where the chase was marked. Balls can be struck on the volley or the first bounce, but after the first bounce it may also be struck with another part of the body, usually the foot.