# The court shrinks: 60 x 30 in Ireland, 65 x 24 to 20 x 40 in America

In: [Learn](https://handball.theperfectship.com/learn.md) > [History](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history.md) > [Threads](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads.md) > The court shrinks: 60 x 30 in Ireland, 65 x 24 to 20 x 40 in America

Thread. 1874-2025 · American four-wall, One-wall (small and big ball), Irish 60x30 (hardball and softball), 40x20 and international four-wall.

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The Irish alley is a 60-ft floor, open at the back, and the GAA still plays 60 x 30; the New York courts of the 1880s were the same length (Degraw Street 65 x 24 ft with a 35-ft front wall; the Sun's 'regulation' 50-60 ft long, about 30 wide, 40 high) with a solid back wall that the Irish courts lacked. The American four-wall court then shrank in steps, most of which this record can now date: 24 1/2 x 35 (Deshong's text, 1893; 60 x 24 1/2 x 35 in the 1903 book), 24 x 50 (A.A.U. 1920), 24 x 48 (1922), 22 x 46 x 22 (the A.A.U. guide of 1928, kept in 1931) and 20 x 40 x 20 (USHA, by 1990 and today); only the last step, somewhere in 1932-1989, is undated ([H-106](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-106.md)). The Y.M.C.A. had already played on a 40 x 20 floor in 1915. The one-wall court went the other way, from Brokaw's 20 x 26 floor to the A.A.U.'s 20 x 34 (1922), which the USHA, the GAA and (in meters, 6.10 x 10.60) the CIJB still use. Ireland adopted the American 40 x 20 court in 1969 and the Irish-American difference became a choice of code rather than a quarrel about back walls.

## The take

The 1887 Degraw Street court (65 x 24, open back-wall quarrel with Ireland) and today's 20 x 40 box are the same game only by descent of rules; the floor lost a third of its length, and the record now dates the middle step (22 x 46 in 1928) and finds the 40 x 20 floor in the Y.M.C.A.'s rules of 1915; only the last step, 1932-1989, is undated. Ireland never shrank its alley: it added the American court beside it in 1969. The 'court shrinks' is an American story; the Irish story is 'the court multiplies'.

## Moments in order

- **3 September 1874** (Documented): McQuade's Racket and Hand Ball Court, 404 Madison Street: 'the only place of the kind now in the city'; Casey lists the courts in 1875.
  Source: [The New York Herald (New York), 4 September 1874, p. 5](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030313/1874-09-04/ed-1/?sp=5). Also: [The New York Herald (New York), 9 December 1875, p. 10](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030313/1875-12-09/ed-1/?sp=10)
- **November 1880** (Documented): Oamaru, New Zealand: a court 60 x 27 ft at the Shamrock Hotel: the Irish long alley abroad.
  Source: [North Otago Times, 17 November 1880 (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NOT18801117.2.6)
- **November 1887** (Documented): Brooklyn Handball Club court, Degraw Street: 65 ft long, 24 ft wide, front wall 35 ft high faced with white marble; the Sun's 'regulation' court: about 40 ft high, 50-60 ft long, about 30 ft wide, a line 25 ft from the front wall.
  Source: [The Sun (New York), 30 November 1887, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-11-30/ed-1/?sp=3). Also: [The Sun (New York), 27 November 1887, p. 11](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-11-27/ed-1/?sp=11)
- **1893** (Documented): Deshong: court text 24 1/2 x 35 ft while the plate reads 25 x 33 ft (transcription notes, 1893 edition); the 1903 book: 'about sixty feet long, twenty-four and one-half feet wide and thirty-five feet high in the front, tapering down to thirty-three feet' (transcription notes, 1903 edition).
  Source: [Maurice W. Deshong, The Game of Hand Ball and How to Play It (1893)](https://www.loc.gov/item/ca05001384/), p. 12. Also: [Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903)](https://www.loc.gov/item/04000015/), p. 41
  Read the rulebooks: [Revised Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of America, For the Government of the National Championship in Singles](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1903.md); [Rules and Explanations](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/deshong-fourwall-1893.md)
- **by 4 July 1897** (Documented): 'At the back of the Irish court there is an open space, while under the American rules there is a solid wall.'
  Source: [Worcester Morning Daily Spy (Worcester), 5 July 1897, p. 5](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn93058748/1897-07-05/ed-1/?sp=5)
- **29 December 1901** (Documented): A Basque pelota court at the Olympic Club, San Francisco (figures uncertain; the Tribune item is a San Francisco dispatch): other wall games arrive on the same coast.
  Source: [New-York Tribune (New York), 29 December 1901, p. 17](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030214/1901-12-29/ed-1/?sp=17)
- **1903** (Documented): Ireland, Gaelic Rules (1903) R3-R4: floor 60 ft 'or as near to it as possible'; side lines where side walls are missing; a 4-in tell-board; no width or wall height stated.
  Source: [Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903)](https://www.loc.gov/item/04000015/), p. 33
- **1915** (Documented): Brokaw's one-wall: board 20 ft wide, 10 ft high; floor 20 x 26 ft; field 55 x 40 ft ([Rules of American Hand Ball (1916)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/brokaw-american-1916.md) R53-R55). The Sun 1916: 'Most of the American handball courts are 60 feet by 40 feet, with 26 foot side lines and 20 foot front lines' (1916 newspaper notes).
  Source: [James I. Brokaw, How to Play American Hand Ball (1915)](https://www.loc.gov/item/16024697/), pp. 39-43
  Read the rulebook: [Rules of American Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/brokaw-american-1916.md)
- **1 January 1920** (Documented): A.A.U. four-wall R1: four walls approximately 24 x 50 ft, ceiling at least 25 ft; 'other courts allowed for now' ([Hand Ball (1920)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1920.md)).
  Source: Amateur Athletic Union, official athletic rules (Library of Congress digitised volume, 1920)
  Read the rulebook: [Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1920.md)
- **1 January 1922** (Documented): Revised to 24 x 48 ft ([Official Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (1923)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1923.md) R1); the 1923 guide's court diagram: 24 x 48 ft, front wall 25 ft ([H-67](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-67.md)).
  Source: [Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923)](https://www.loc.gov/item/23002979/), p. 69
  Read the rulebook: [Official Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1923.md)
- **20 November 1922** (Documented): A.A.U. one-wall R1: about 20 ft wide, 34 ft long, wall 16 ft high ([A.A.U. One-Wall Rules (1922)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md)).
  Source: [Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923)](https://www.loc.gov/item/23002979/), p. 75
  Read the rulebook: [A.A.U. One-Wall Rules](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md)
- **1969** (Documented): First American-style 4-wall (40x20) court built in Ireland ([GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)); All-Ireland 4-wall championship from 1975 (All-Ireland 4-Wall Championships).
  Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history). Also: [GAA Handball Ireland, 4-wall championship roll of honour (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/competitions/rolls-of-honour)
- **2019-2025** (Documented): GAA Wallball: 20 x 34 ft, 16-ft wall (Official Irish 1-Wall (Wallball) Playing Rules - As of January 2019 (2019), Official Irish 4-Wall, Softball, Hardball & Wallball Playing Rules (2025)); GAA International 4-Wall: 40 x 20 x 20 ft (Official Irish 4-Wall, Softball, Hardball & Wallball Playing Rules (2025)); 60x30 softball and hardball keep the alley (Irish 60x30 hardball notes: 60 x 30 ft, front wall 27 ft, locator not yet read).
  Source: [GAA Handball Playing Rules: 1-Wall (Wexford GAA copy) (seen 28 October 2026)](https://wexfordgaahandball.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Playing-Rules-1-wall.pdf). Also: [GAA Handball Playing Rules: 4-Wall, Wallball, 60x30 Softball and Hardball (Wexford GAA copy), file dated 29 May 2025 (seen 28 October 2026)](https://wexfordgaahandball.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playing-Rules-4-Wall-Wallball-60x30-Softball-Hardball-2025.pdf)
- **March 2023** (Documented): CIJB: 6.10 x 10.60 m, wall 4.90 m (WALLBALL RULES (2023)): the 20 x 34 court in meters (approximately 20 x 34.8 ft, wall 16.1 ft).
  Source: [CIJB Wallball Rules (English), file dated 23 March 2023 (seen 28 October 2026)](https://cijb.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/wallball_eng-1.pdf)
- **26 January 2025** (Documented): USHA four-wall 2.1/A: 20 ft wide, 20 ft high, 40 ft long, back wall at least 14 ft recommended; one-wall 2.1/A: wall 20 x 16 ft, floor 20 x 34 ft, a run-off border of at least 10 ft (Four-Wall Rulebook (2025), One-Wall Rulebook (2025)).
  Source: [US Handball Association, "Four-Wall Rulebook" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.ushandball.org/four-wall-rulebook/). Also: [US Handball Association, "One-Wall Rulebook" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.ushandball.org/learn-handball/one-wall-rulebook/)
- **1958-1959** (Documented): The A.A.U.'s 1962 book ([H-128](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-128.md); seller photographs) dates the first all-glass court (Aurora Y.M.C.A., 1958) and the official opening of a three-wall 'jai-alai type' court at Forrest Park Playground, Queens (the book's spelling) (29 November 1959): the walls change material and number before this record can date the floor shrinking to 20 x 40.
  Source: [eBay listing 178429923015: seller photographs of an A.A.U. handball rules booklet (1962) (seen 30 October 2026)](https://www.ebay.com/itm/178429923015)
- **May 1915** (Documented): The Y.M.C.A.'s four-wall court, adopted at Asilomar in May 1915, is 40 ft long, 20 ft wide and 18 ft high with a 10-ft rear wall ([Hand Ball Rules: Four Wall Court (1915)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/ymca-fourwall-1915.md)): the 40 x 20 floor, 75 years before the first USHA text held ([H-106](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-106.md)).
  Source: [Athletic League of the Young Men's Christian Associations of North America, Official Handbook (1915)](https://archive.org/details/officialhandbook06athl), p. 181
  Read the rulebook: [Hand Ball Rules: Four Wall Court](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/ymca-fourwall-1915.md)
- **1928** (Documented): The A.A.U.'s standard court in the 1928 guide is 22 ft wide, 46 ft long and 22 ft high ([Official Handball Playing Rules of the A.A.U. (in Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 1928) (1928)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1928.md) Rule 1), with the short line at midcourt, 23 ft from the back wall; O'Connell's 1931 book keeps 22 x 46 ([A.A.U. Soft Ball Four-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931) (1931)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1931.md)). The change from 24 x 48 falls between the 1923 and 1928 guides ([H-106](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-106.md)).
  Source: [Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball (American Sports Publishing Company, 1931)](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435007267735), p. 65. Also: [Google Books, Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1928), p. 31 text view (seen 30 October 2026)](https://books.google.com/books?id=9jNMAQAAMAAJ)
  Read the rulebooks: [Official Handball Playing Rules of the A.A.U. (in Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 1928)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1928.md); [A.A.U. Soft Ball Four-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1931.md)

## What the sources do not show

- The step from 22 x 46 (A.A.U. 1928-1931) to 20 x 40 (USHA 1990): undated; no four-wall text is held for 1932-1989. The Y.M.C.A.'s 40 x 20 court of 1915 is a candidate source for the figure, not a shown one ([H-106](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-106.md)). The year the A.A.U. went from 24 x 48 to 22 x 46 is also unknown (between the 1923 and 1928 guides).
- 1880s-90s New York court dimensions other than Degraw Street and the Sun's 'regulation': Sweeny's, McQuade's, Jersey City (223 Mercer) are unmeasured in the sources read; the 1893 text/plate conflict is unresolved.
- Irish court width and wall height before 2020: the 1903 rules give only the length; the GAA current specification has not been read at its locator.
- The 1969 Irish 40x20 court and the WHC's international court standard: GAA history page only.
- One-wall floor 26 ft (1915) to 34 ft (1922): no intermediate source; the Sun's '60 by 40' (1916) is not understood.
- Three-wall courts: no dimensions in any held source before the 2025 addendum.

## Eras this thread crosses

- [The alley game before the Association (-1884)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/ie-alley-game-before-the-gaa.md) (Ireland, by 1884)
- [GAA Handball: four codes, one rulebook (2009-)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/ie-gaa-handball-four-codes.md) (Ireland, from 2009)
- [The GAA's rules and the Atlantic matches (1884-1923)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/ie-gaa-rules-and-the-atlantic-matches.md) (Ireland, 1884-1923)
- [The Irish Handball Council: All-Irelands, softball, the 40x20 (1924-2008)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/ie-irish-handball-council.md) (Ireland, 1924-2008)
- [The A.A.U. takes the amateur game; the professionals keep the 'world' title (1896-1919)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/us-aau-amateur-championships.md) (United States, 1896-1919)
- [The A.A.U. rule codes: four-wall, one-wall, hardball (1920-1950)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/us-aau-rule-codes.md) (United States, 1920-1950)
- [Casey's court, the Brooklyn Handball Club and The Sun's rules (1887-1896)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/us-casey-brooklyn-and-the-suns-rules.md) (United States, 1887-1896)
- [One-wall rises in New York (1915-1922)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/us-one-wall-rises-in-new-york.md) (United States, 1915-1922)
- [Racket courts and saloon alleys: New York before the clubs (1860s-1887)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/us-racket-courts-and-saloon-alleys.md) (United States, 1860-1887)
- [USHA alone: one body, three codes, online rules (1978-)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/us-usha-alone.md) (United States, from 1978)

## Related threads

- [One-wall becomes its own game](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads/one-wall-becomes-its-own-game.md)
- [The ball: from 'about two inches' to 1 7/8 in and 61 grams](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads/the-ball.md)
- [The serve: one ace line, then two lines, then the short line](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads/the-serve.md)

## Rulebooks cited here

- [Revised Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of America, For the Government of the National Championship in Singles](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1903.md)
- [Rules and Explanations](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/deshong-fourwall-1893.md)
- [Rules of American Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/brokaw-american-1916.md)
- [Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1920.md)
- [Official Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1923.md)
- [A.A.U. One-Wall Rules](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md)
- [Hand Ball Rules: Four Wall Court](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/ymca-fourwall-1915.md)
- [Official Handball Playing Rules of the A.A.U. (in Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 1928)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1928.md)
- [A.A.U. Soft Ball Four-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1931.md)

## Sources

- Amateur Athletic Union, official athletic rules (Library of Congress digitised volume, 1920)
- [Athletic League of the Young Men's Christian Associations of North America, Official Handbook (1915)](https://archive.org/details/officialhandbook06athl)
- [Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball (American Sports Publishing Company, 1931)](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435007267735)
- [CIJB Wallball Rules (English), file dated 23 March 2023 (seen 28 October 2026)](https://cijb.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/wallball_eng-1.pdf)
- [eBay listing 178429923015: seller photographs of an A.A.U. handball rules booklet (1962) (seen 30 October 2026)](https://www.ebay.com/itm/178429923015)
- [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)
- [GAA Handball Ireland, 4-wall championship roll of honour (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/competitions/rolls-of-honour)
- [GAA Handball Playing Rules: 1-Wall (Wexford GAA copy) (seen 28 October 2026)](https://wexfordgaahandball.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Playing-Rules-1-wall.pdf)
- [GAA Handball Playing Rules: 4-Wall, Wallball, 60x30 Softball and Hardball (Wexford GAA copy), file dated 29 May 2025 (seen 28 October 2026)](https://wexfordgaahandball.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playing-Rules-4-Wall-Wallball-60x30-Softball-Hardball-2025.pdf)
- [Google Books, Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1928), p. 31 text view (seen 30 October 2026)](https://books.google.com/books?id=9jNMAQAAMAAJ)
- [James I. Brokaw, How to Play American Hand Ball (1915)](https://www.loc.gov/item/16024697/)
- [Maurice W. Deshong, The Game of Hand Ball and How to Play It (1893)](https://www.loc.gov/item/ca05001384/)
- [Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903)](https://www.loc.gov/item/04000015/)
- [New-York Tribune (New York), 29 December 1901, p. 17](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030214/1901-12-29/ed-1/?sp=17)
- [North Otago Times, 17 November 1880 (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NOT18801117.2.6)
- [Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923)](https://www.loc.gov/item/23002979/)
- [The New York Herald (New York), 4 September 1874, p. 5](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030313/1874-09-04/ed-1/?sp=5)
- [The New York Herald (New York), 9 December 1875, p. 10](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030313/1875-12-09/ed-1/?sp=10)
- [The Sun (New York), 27 November 1887, p. 11](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-11-27/ed-1/?sp=11)
- [The Sun (New York), 30 November 1887, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-11-30/ed-1/?sp=3)
- [US Handball Association, "Four-Wall Rulebook" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.ushandball.org/four-wall-rulebook/)
- [US Handball Association, "One-Wall Rulebook" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.ushandball.org/learn-handball/one-wall-rulebook/)
- [Worcester Morning Daily Spy (Worcester), 5 July 1897, p. 5](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn93058748/1897-07-05/ed-1/?sp=5)

## Corrections

Found a mistake, or a source we missed? Email perfectshipllc@gmail.com with the subject "History correction: The court shrinks: 60 x 30 in Ireland, 65 x 24 to 20 x 40 in America (/history/threads/the-court-shrinks/)". Please name the page and, if you can, the source.