Phil Casey's court

Address as printed: 297 Degraw street, Brooklyn
Walls: 4
Size: 65 feet long, 35 feet high at the front, tapering to 33 feet at the rear (width garbled in OCR)
Surface: white pine boards (floor)
Setting: Indoor
Built: by 29 November 1887

Dated facts

23 November 1887 (dated from the issue it appeared in): The Brooklyn Handball Club (president Phil Casey) has a new court in Degraw Street, Brooklyn: 65 ft long, 24 ft wide, front wall 35 ft high faced with white marble, back wall 12 ft, white-pine floor
Source: The Sun (New York), 30 November 1887, p. 3
29 November 1887 (dated from the issue it appeared in): Casey beat Lawlor in the first seven of the eleven New York games, winning the international match and the 'championship of the world', at the Brooklyn Handball Club court, Degraw Street
Casey won games 1-7; match 11-6 on aggregate
Degraw Street, Brooklyn (Brooklyn Handball Club court), not Sweeney's
Source: The Sun (New York), 30 November 1887, p. 3
21 December 1888 (dated from the issue it appeared in): Casey's court is at 297 Degraw street, Brooklyn (the Brooklyn Handball Club court)
Source: The Evening World (New York), 21 December 1888, p. 1
about March 1889 (dated from the issue it appeared in): The Brooklyn Handball Club holds a three-class tournament at its Degraw Street court, March-April 1889, with gold medals presented by the club
three classes; gold medal to each winner
Source: The Sun (New York), 12 March 1889, p. 6
by 21 November 1890 (dated from the issue it appeared in): By 21 Nov 1890 Brooklyn courts play under the Sun's new service rule (serve only from the ace line); Casey endorses it
rule restricts service to the ace line
Casey heartily in favor of the new rule
Sun suggested all service from the ace line; opposed by old-school players; adopted by Murray Hill court
Source: The Sun (New York), 21 November 1890, p. 4
by 29 November 1890: The Sun of 29 Nov 1890 notes that Phil Casey's Brooklyn court opened 'three years ago to-day', 29 Nov 1887, the night the first international match (Casey v. Lawlor of Dublin) was decided in it; the earlier games of the match had been played in Dublin on 6 Aug 1887
Source: The Sun (New York), 29 November 1890, p. 4
4 June 1891 (dated from the issue it appeared in): Lawlor (Ireland) v. Courtney with ten aces at the Brooklyn Handball Club court, 297 Degraw street
court address 297 Degraw street (OCR '29T Degraw')
Source: The Sun (New York), 4 June 1891, p. 4
14 April 1898 to 29 April 1898 (dated from the issue it appeared in): Second annual A.A.U. handball championship, Jersey City and Brooklyn clubs; Mike Egan retains the title after losing to Dr. Tommy Gillen in Brooklyn Sources disagree
The start of the tournament is dated from an April 14, 1898 report that play was beginning that day, while the end of the range, April 29, comes from a wire report that Egan still held the title; the exact dates of the tournament are therefore not fixed.
Egan's only defeat (Gillen, Brooklyn); still wins on games
Egan holds the title, wins by default at Casey's court on 29 April
Date: sources disagree. The value from the stronger source (the lower rank number) is preferred.
- 14 April 1898 to 29 April 1898 preferred, source rank 2: The Jersey City News (Jersey City), 1 April 1898, p. 3
- 14 April 1898 also given, source rank 2: The Jersey City News (Jersey City), 1 April 1898, p. 3
Source: The Jersey City News (Jersey City), 1 April 1898, p. 3
12 July 1904: Phil Casey, for 25 years handball champion of the world, died at his Brooklyn home on 12 July 1904, aged 56
held the title about 25 years; relinquished it voluntarily about seven years earlier (c.1897); public court in Brooklyn since the 1870s
first reported dying of stomach cancer on 12 July
Source: New-York Tribune (New York), 13 July 1904, p. 4
3 January 1908 (dated from the issue it appeared in): Brooklyn real-estate report: 'a three story brick building and handball court, known as Casey's Ball Court', on Degraw St, sold to John Muldoon
sale of the building and handball court 'known as Casey's Ball Court' (street number OCR '207' for Degraw St)
Source: New-York Tribune (New York), 3 January 1908, p. 12

Sources

All places