American handball

American (or court) handball is an American form of fives played against one or more walls. It has origins in pre-Hispanic central America (about 1500 BC) and Scotland/Ireland circa 1500 AD. For centuries, the game was limited primarily to Ireland as Gaelic handball. Irish immigrants brought it to the United States in the 1880s. It is similar to (and in fact preceded) racquetball and squash. Jai alai is also thought to have evolved from handball.

Play

American handball is played on a court 12.2 meters long by 6.1 meters wide (40 feet long by 20 feet wide) with either a single (front) wall, three walls, or in a fully enclosed four-wall (the most common). The four-wall court is a rectangular box. The front wall is 6.1 meters (20 feet) square, and the side walls are 12.2 meters (40 feet) long and 6.1 meters (20 feet) high. In the middle of the floor of the court lies the short line, dividing the floor into two 6.1 meter (20 feet) squares. Also along the floor is the service line, which is 1.5 meters (5 feet) in front of the short line. The service zone is the area between these two lines. The back wall of the court is usually 3.7 meters (12 feet) high, with an above gallery for the referee and scorer, and also spectators. A few courts have a glass back wall and/or glass side walls to allow for a better view of the match. (In three-wall court handball, the court often has a front wall and two full side walls, or the front wall is flanked by two triangular wings.)

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Handball may be played singles (two players against each other), doubles (two teams of two players), or "cut-throat" (three players rotating one-against-two). (In "cut-throat" handball, one server plays against two receivers, until he or she is put out. Then, the left-most receiver serves, and so serves rotate in this way until one player scores 21 points and wins.) The black rubber ball, 65 grams (2.3 ounces) in mass/weight and 4.8 centimeters (1 7/8 inches) in diameter (slightly smaller and harder than a racquetball), is hit with the gloved palm (informal games often don't include gloves). The ball is "served" by one player/team standing in the service zone, by dropping the ball to the floor of the service zone and striking it on the bounce with the hand or fist so that it hits the front wall. The ball must hit the front wall first; it may then hit only one side wall; the served ball must pass the short line before the first bounce. It may be hit directly, or may bounce off the floor once before being "returned" by the receiver. A legal return must either hit the front wall directly, or it may touch the back wall, the side walls, or the ceiling before hitting the front wall. When the served ball lands in front of the short line, it is called a "short." If the server gets two shorts in a row, he or she is out, and becomes the receiver. In doubles, the server's teammate has to stand in the service area with his/her back to a side wall in a service box, marked by a parallel line 45.7 centimeters (18 inches) from the side wall, until the ball passes the short line.

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The receiver must stand at least 1.52 meters (5 feet) behind the short line, indicated by lines extending 15.2 centimeters (6 inches) from each side wall, while the server has the ball. He or she must then hit the ball either directly or after the first bounce so that it bounces off the front wall. The ball cannot bounce off the floor twice. Nor can any player during a return deliberately hit the ball off the floor before it touches the front wall. The server then hits the ball on the rebound from the front wall, and play continues with the opponents alternatively hitting the ball until one of them fails to make a legal return. Players cannot hinder (block) their opponents from hitting the ball. If the server fails to make a legal return, he or she is out, and becomes the receiver. If the receiver fails to make the return, a point goes to the server, who continues to serve until he or she is out. So, only the server/serving team can score points. The game goes to the player/team to score 21 points first, and a match goes to the player/team to win two out of three games.

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One-wall

A one-wall handball court has a wall 6.1 meters (20 feet) wide and 4.9 meters (16 feet) high. The court floor is 6.1 meters (20 feet) wide and 10.4 meters (34 feet) long. The one-wall game uses the same ball and the same rules for scoring, but because the court contains no ceiling or side walls, the ball must always be played off the front wall. This requires great skill in order to keep the ball in play during a fast game, but one-wall handball can be watched by more people than the four-wall game, and the court is cheaper to build, making this version of handball popular at gymnasiums and playgrounds. Some well-known American one-wall handball players are Joe Durso, John "Rookie" Wright, Albert Apuzzi and Yuber Castro.

Related Topics:
Joe Durso - John "Rookie" Wright - Albert Apuzzi - Yuber Castro

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Handball is significantly more physically demanding than racquetball or any other racquet sport. The four-wall version of handball (where play is allowed off all four walls and the ceiling) is perhaps the most challenging. However, handball offers excellent fitness rewards since it requires speed, agility, and stamina, and it utilizes many aerobic exercise disciplines that are balanced across your entire body. Ironically, handball has lost popularity due to both racquetball's rise (as players migrated) and fall (as clubs lost courts), but it's an excellent way to keep in shape when outdoor games can't be easily played because of darkness or inclement weather. One well-known American handball player in the 1970s was "Steady Freddy."

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