Handball

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The ball: from 'about two inches' to 1 7/8 in and 61 grams

1875-2025 · American four-wall, One-wall (small and big ball), Irish 60x30 (hardball and softball)

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The ball is the clearest line of descent and the clearest line of division. New York 1873-1889: 'about two inches' (James 1873, Spalding 1886, no weight given) and, in the Sun's 1889 printing, 1 1/3 oz; Deshong 1893: 1 7/8 in, 1 5/8 oz; the A.A.U. 1903: a 'full regulation Spalding ball' of the same size, probably leather-covered (H-74), beside Irish 'Red Ace' and 'Black Ace' balls in the advertisements; the 1887 Cork-Brooklyn match alternated the large American and small Irish balls because the players could not agree. The Irish code fixed a hard sheepskin ball of 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 oz (1903) and kept hardball as a code; America went to a 'standard rubber handball' by 1920 (Spalding No. 101 at the nationals), then split a 'four-wall hardball' code off in the 1930s-40s, and the USHA settled on 1 7/8 in and 61 g with a rebound test. The park game's bigger, lighter ball became a code of its own, and the GAA now lists 'Big Blue' and 'Penn' wallballs beside a goatskin hardball.

The take

Every split in the handball family is a ball: hard v soft in Ireland, hardball v rubber in America, small v big in the parks. The court changes slowly and the rules copy each other; the ball is what players actually refuse to share, from Cork in 1887 to the USHA's 'big balls can weigh less'.

Moments in order

18 moments. Each shows its status in words and its source.

  1. 8 December 1875 · Documented

    Casey: ball 2 1/4 in.

    Source: The New York Herald (New York), 9 December 1875, p. 10

  2. 4 August 1887 to 29 November 1887 · Documented

    Casey v Lawlor: the large American and small Irish balls alternate game by game (H-87, partly refuted on venue, checked against the balls rules).

    Source: The Sun (New York), 5 August 1887, p. 3. Also: The Sun (New York), 30 November 1887, p. 3

  3. 17 March 1889 · Documented

    Sun code R1: 'a ball about two inches in diameter and 1 1/3 ounces in weight'; James 1873 R1 and Spalding 1886 R1 give the diameter only, so the weight is the Sun's addition, along with a few trimmed words elsewhere in the code (Hand Ball Rules (1873), Hand Ball (1886)).

    Source: The Sun (New York), 17 March 1889, p. 7. Also: Ed James, Manual of sporting rules (1873), p. 76; George H. Benedict, Spalding's hand book of sporting rules and training (1886), p. 45

    Read the rulebooks: Hand Ball Rules; Hand Ball; The set rules of the game

  4. 1 March 1892 · Documented

    The reorganized Brooklyn Handball Club appoints a committee on the ball; by 1896 its ball rules are called the standard 'wherever the game is played'.

    Source: The Sun (New York), 3 March 1892, p. 4. Also: New-York Tribune (New York), 27 December 1896, p. 21

  5. 1893 · Documented

    Deshong R3: 1 7/8 in, 1 5/8 oz, with a passage on the Brooklyn Handball Club ball (Casey, Dunne, Courtney) (Rules and Explanations (1893)).

    Source: Maurice W. Deshong, The Game of Hand Ball and How to Play It (1893), p. 12

    Read the rulebook: Rules and Explanations

  6. 22 May 1902 · Documented

    Egan v Drew: 'the regulation alley cracker ball was used and each player' may bring his own (Jersey City News, 1902).

    Source: The Jersey City News (Jersey City), 23 May 1902, p. 3

  7. 1903 · Documented

    A.A.U. R3: 'full regulation Spalding ball', 1 7/8 in, 1 5/8 oz (Revised Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of America, For the Government of the National Championship in Singles (1903)); the advertisement after the rules lists Spalding No. 1 match balls 'leather cover' and 'Irish Regulation Red Ace / Black Ace' (H-74). Deshong's 1903 rewrite swaps the Brooklyn passage for Spalding prices and the Irish balls (Rules and Explanations (1903)).

    Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 41

    Read the rulebooks: Revised Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of America, For the Government of the National Championship in Singles; Rules and Explanations

  8. 1903 · Documented

    Ireland, Gaelic Rules (1903) R5: 'The balls to be hard and covered with sheepskin or any suitable kind of leather', 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 oz.

    Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 33

  9. 1915 · Documented

    Brokaw R52: 1 7/8 to 2 in, 2 to 2 1/4 oz, gum and carbon, 30 psi (Rules of American Hand Ball (1916)).

    Source: James I. Brokaw, How to Play American Hand Ball (1915), pp. 39-43

    Read the rulebook: Rules of American Hand Ball

  10. 1920-1923 · Documented

    A.A.U. R2: 'standard rubber handball'; the 1923 guide adds '(Spalding's No. 101 ball is used in the national championship tournaments)' (Hand Ball (1920), Official Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (1923); H-56). One-wall 1922: 'Standard rubber handball, Spalding No. 101 or similar' (A.A.U. One-Wall Rules (1922)). The 1897 championship had used 'the Spalding hard ball' (1923 guide L2958).

    Source: Amateur Athletic Union, official athletic rules (Library of Congress digitised volume, 1920). Also: Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923), p. 69

    Read the rulebooks: Hand Ball; Official Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States; A.A.U. One-Wall Rules

  11. 1925 · Documented

    Ireland: All-Ireland hardball and softball championships run side by side from 1925 (All-Ireland Hardball Championships, All-Ireland 60x30 Softball Championships): the ball divides the Irish game into two codes (H-104).

    Source: GAA Handball Ireland, hardball championship roll of honour (seen 28 October 2026). Also: GAA Handball Ireland, softball championship roll of honour (seen 28 October 2026)

  12. 1933-1949 · Documented

    'Four-wall hardball' named as a code in A.A.U. titles (LC ca33000972; Official rules handball, four-wall, one-wall, four-wall hardball; codeball, volleyball, horseshoe pitching (1949); H-28): the hard ball survives in America as a separate game.

    Source: WorldCat, search for AAU official rules handball (seen 28 October 2026)

  13. 2019-2025 · Documented

    GAA 1-wall: ball 1 7/8 in, 61 g (Official Irish 1-Wall (Wallball) Playing Rules - As of January 2019 (2019)); GAA 2025: 'Big Blue Wallball' and 'Penn Wallball' (2.18-2.22 in) for Wallball, goatskin for hardball (Official Irish 4-Wall, Softball, Hardball & Wallball Playing Rules (2025), Official Irish 4-Wall, Softball, Hardball & Wallball Playing Rules (2025)).

    Source: GAA Handball Playing Rules: 1-Wall (Wexford GAA copy) (seen 28 October 2026). Also: GAA Handball Playing Rules: 4-Wall, Wallball, 60x30 Softball and Hardball (Wexford GAA copy), file dated 29 May 2025 (seen 28 October 2026)

  14. 26 January 2025 · Documented

    USHA 2.2: approved balls 1 7/8 in, 61 g (red), rebound specification; 'USHA White label and/or big balls can weigh less'; the referee approves the ball for each match (Four-Wall Rulebook (2025), One-Wall Rulebook (2025)). The USWA rules name no ball (H-75).

    Source: US Handball Association, "Four-Wall Rulebook" (seen 28 October 2026). Also: US Handball Association, "One-Wall Rulebook" (seen 28 October 2026)

  15. 1913 · Documented

    The Y.M.C.A.'s revised single-wall rules name an 'Irish Ace' ball (Hand Ball Rules: Single Wall Court (1913); H-140): the Irish-made ball in an American gymnasium code.

    Source: Athletic League of the Young Men's Christian Associations of North America, Official Handbook (1913), p. 119

    Read the rulebook: Hand Ball Rules: Single Wall Court

  16. 1931 · Documented

    The A.A.U. soft-ball four-wall rules printed in O'Connell 1931 add a ball specification, 2.3 oz with a half-ounce tolerance (A.A.U. Soft Ball Four-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931) (1931); H-142): the first American weight since Deshong's 1 5/8 oz, and the 'soft ball' named in the code's own title against the hard ball.

    Source: Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball (American Sports Publishing Company, 1931), p. 65

    Read the rulebooks: A.A.U. Soft Ball Four-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931); A.A.U. Hard Ball Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931)

  17. 1931-1990 · Documented

    The 2.3 oz ball the A.A.U. specified in 1931, allowing half an ounce either way (A.A.U. Soft Ball Four-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931) (1931)), is also the USHA's weight in 1990, allowing 0.2 oz (The Official United States Handball Association Handball Rules With Interpretations and One-Wall and Three-Wall Addendum Revised 1991 (1990)): the one ball figure known to cross the gap of 1932-1989 unchanged. The diameter, 1 7/8 in, is the same in every American four-wall text that gives one, from Deshong 1893 on.

    Source: Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball (American Sports Publishing Company, 1931), p. 65. Also: Colorado Handball Association, "The Official United States Handball Association Handball Rules" (Wayback snapshot of 19 May 1998); Maurice W. Deshong, The Game of Hand Ball and How to Play It (1893), p. 12

    Read the rulebooks: A.A.U. Soft Ball Four-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931); Rules and Explanations; The Official United States Handball Association Handball Rules With Interpretations and One-Wall and Three-Wall Addendum Revised 1991

  18. 1903-2020 · Documented

    The Irish hard ball keeps one weight range, 1.5 to 1.75 oz, in the rules printed in 1903 (Gaelic Rules (1903)), the Council's of January 2009 (Official Playing Rules (Handball Playing Rules) (2009)) and the GAA's of March 2020 (Official Irish 4-Wall & 60x30 Playing Rules (2020)). Its midpoint, 1 5/8 oz, is the weight Deshong printed for the American ball in 1893 (Rules and Explanations (1893)); that the balls were ever alike is not shown. Figures only.

    Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 33. Also: Wexford GAA Handball, "Playing Rules" PDF (uploaded August 2016) (seen 28 October 2026); Wexford GAA Handball, "Playing rules: 60x30 softball, 40x20, 4-wall" (updated March 2020) (seen 28 October 2026); Maurice W. Deshong, The Game of Hand Ball and How to Play It (1893), p. 12

    Read the rulebook: Rules and Explanations

What the sources do not show

  • The Brooklyn club's ball specification (1892-96) was never found in print; whether it is Deshong's 1 7/8 in / 1 5/8 oz is inference.
  • Whether the 1897-1903 'Spalding ball' was leather-covered (H-74): an advertisement, not a rule.
  • When the American game went from leather to rubber (between 1903 and 1920): no text; the Y.M.C.A. texts of 1900-1915 and the 1913 'Irish Ace' name have not been read for the ball's material.
  • The Irish softball's origin and red rubber ball (H-104): nothing before the 1925 roll.
  • 'Four-wall hardball' has one rule text (1931) and no specification beyond it; no results.
  • The A.A.U. ball between 1931 (2.3 oz) and the USHA's 1990 specification (also 2.3 oz): no text 1932-1989, so no one can say whether the weight was held or came back; the figure itself did not change.
  • The big blue ball: no specification in any USWA text; 'Big Blue' as a name has no dated first use (no evidence it refers to the color).

Eras this thread crosses

Rulebooks cited here

Sources