# The serve: one ace line, then two lines, then the short line

In: [Learn](https://handball.theperfectship.com/learn.md) > [History](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history.md) > [Threads](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads.md) > The serve: one ace line, then two lines, then the short line

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

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The American serve went from a single 'ace line' in the middle of the court, behind which the server stood and over which the serve had to carry (James 1873, Casey 1875, the Sun 1889), through the Sun's 1890 reform that confined the server to the ace line to stop hard serving, to the two-line court ('the two parallel lines' of Deshong 1893; 'short line' in Brooklyn by 1892), which the A.A.U. of 1920 named short line and service line ([H-67](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-67.md) supported) and the USHA still marks at 20 ft and 15 ft. The penalty moved too: three short serves lost the hand (1889-1903), then two in succession in the Y.M.C.A.'s four-wall rules of 1915 and two of any kind in the A.A.U.'s one-wall code of 1922, while the A.A.U.'s own four-wall texts kept three in 1920 and 1923 and took two of any kind, with the five-foot serving space between two lines, by 1928 (the rule four-wall players know today), and the receiver's old right to play a short serve with the foot vanished with the foot itself (1903). Ireland kept its own geometry: a short line between half and two-thirds of a 60-ft floor, an over line, three failed 'tosses'; that over line is the oldest long-serve rule in this record (1903).

## The take

The serve is where a newspaper changed the game: the Sun's 1890 reform against hard serving is the first documented rule change in American handball, and the short line it produced is the one line every code still shares. The Irish toss, the American serve and the one-wall drop are the same act under three geometries.

## Moments in order

- **8 December 1875** (Documented): Casey: ace line about 30 ft from the front wall; three failed serves count out.
  Source: [The New York Herald (New York), 9 December 1875, p. 10](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030313/1875-12-09/ed-1/?sp=10)
- **27 November 1887** (Documented): The Sun's 'regulation' court: a line across the court 25 ft from the front wall with 3-ft semicircles.
  Source: [The Sun (New York), 27 November 1887, p. 11](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-11-27/ed-1/?sp=11)
- **17 March 1889** (Documented): Sun code rule 4: the server stands inside 'a line called the ace line (which is supposed to be in the centre of the court)' and serves to the players beyond it; three failures to serve over the ace line = hand out; a short serve may be played with hand or foot ([The set rules of the game (1889)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/sun-fourwall-1889.md) R4, R6, R11-R12; the same wording as James 1873 R4-R5, R10-R11, [Hand Ball Rules (1873)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/james-fourwall-1873.md)).
  Source: [The Sun (New York), 17 March 1889, p. 7](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1889-03-17/ed-1/?sp=7). Also: [Ed James, Manual of sporting rules (1873)](https://archive.org/details/manualofsporting00jame), p. 76
  Read the rulebooks: [Hand Ball Rules](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/james-fourwall-1873.md); [The set rules of the game](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/sun-fourwall-1889.md)
- **27 October 1890** (Documented): The reform: the Sun proposes ending hard serving by a line on the front wall or by compelling the server to stand at the ace line; by 21 Nov the Brooklyn courts serve only from the ace line and Casey endorses it ([H-91](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-91.md)).
  Source: [The Sun (New York), 27 October 1890, p. 4](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1890-10-27/ed-1/?sp=4). Also: [The Sun (New York), 21 November 1890, p. 4](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1890-11-21/ed-1/?sp=4)
- **8 September 1892** (Documented): 'Short line': service 'done from the short line' at the Brooklyn club: the first appearance of the term.
  Source: [The Sun (New York), 10 September 1892, p. 5](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1892-09-10/ed-1/?sp=5)
- **1893** (Documented): Deshong R2: serve from either side 'within the two parallel lines'; the serve must reach beyond the ace line; three short balls lose the hand; stepping beyond the inner line twice in succession loses the hand ([Rules and Explanations (1893)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/deshong-fourwall-1893.md)).
  Source: [Maurice W. Deshong, The Game of Hand Ball and How to Play It (1893)](https://www.loc.gov/item/ca05001384/), p. 12
  Read the rulebook: [Rules and Explanations](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/deshong-fourwall-1893.md)
- **13 March 1898** (Documented): The old single-line code is still printed as the rules in Houston (Houston Post 1898, a printing of [Hand Ball (1886)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/spalding-fourwall-1886.md), not of the Sun 1889 text; JAMES1873-TX report): the reform had not reached everywhere.
  Source: [The Houston Daily Post (Houston), 13 March 1898, p. 15](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86071197/1898-03-13/ed-1/?sp=15). Also: [The Sun (New York), 17 March 1889, p. 7](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1889-03-17/ed-1/?sp=7)
  Read the rulebooks: [Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/spalding-fourwall-1886.md); [The set rules of the game](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/sun-fourwall-1889.md)
- **22 May 1902** (Documented): Egan v Drew conditions: service 'from any part of the floor inside a short line and not from a center space as in the former championship matches' (Jersey City News; [May 1902 Egan–Drew conditions: 21 aces, service from anywhere inside a short line (not a centre space), 'alley cracker' ball, each player may use his own ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1902.md), [H-99](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-99.md)).
  Source: [The Jersey City News (Jersey City), 23 May 1902, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn87068097/1902-05-23/ed-1/?sp=3)
- **by 1903** (Documented): A.A.U. 1903 R4-R5: same two lines; the foot is debarred for all balls, so a short serve can no longer be kicked back ([Revised Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of America, For the Government of the National Championship in Singles (1903)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1903.md)).
  Source: [Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903)](https://www.loc.gov/item/04000015/), p. 41
  Read the rulebook: [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)
- **1903** (Documented): Ireland (Gaelic Rules (1903) R1, R2, R18, R26): short line between half and two-thirds of the floor, over line six feet from the boundary; the 'toss' must land between them; three failures = hand out; a receiver may call 'short' or 'over'.
  Source: [Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903)](https://www.loc.gov/item/04000015/), p. 33
- **1915** (Documented): Brokaw's one-wall: a single 'service line' midway between board and front line (13 ft on a 26-ft floor); the ball is dropped beyond it; two consecutive short or long serves put the side out; the serve may not be volleyed ([Rules of American Hand Ball (1916)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/brokaw-american-1916.md) R2-R8, R54).
  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: the server stands 'between the short line and the service line' and must not step over the service line; once over = short, twice in succession = hand out; three short balls = hand out ([Hand Ball (1920)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1920.md) R7-R9). The 1923 guide's court diagram labels the front line 'SERVICE LINE' ([H-67](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-67.md) supported).
  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)
- **20 November 1922** (Documented): A.A.U. one-wall: short line at least 13 ft from the board; two shorts, two longs, or one of each = hand out; the receiver may return on the fly ([A.A.U. One-Wall Rules (1922)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md) R1, R7-R9, R15).
  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)
- **26 January 2025** (Documented): USHA four-wall: short line 20 ft, service line 5 ft in front of it, receivers 5 ft behind; any two consecutive fault serves = out; a serve on the short line is short. USHA one-wall: short line 16 ft (back edge), service markers midway to the long line (Four-Wall Rulebook (2025) 2.1/B, 4.3; One-Wall Rulebook (2025) 2.1/B).
  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/)
- **20 November 1927** (Documented): The A.A.U. one-wall rules adopted 20 November 1927 (printed 1928, [One-Wall Playing Rules (in Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 1928) (1927)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1928.md)) carry a service line 9 ft behind the short line, present already in a reprint of the 1923-27 text ([H-137](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-137.md)): the one-wall serve gets its second line.
  Source: [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 rulebook: [One-Wall Playing Rules (in Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 1928)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1928.md)
- **May 1915** (Documented): The Y.M.C.A.'s four-wall rules of 1915 already put a server out for two short balls in succession ([Hand Ball Rules: Four Wall Court (1915)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/ymca-fourwall-1915.md) Rule 5); the A.A.U. texts of 1920 and 1923 allowed three ([Official Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (1923)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1923.md)) and that of 1928 has two of any kind, so the Y.M.C.A. had the rule nine to thirteen years earlier.
  Source: [Athletic League of the Young Men's Christian Associations of North America, Official Handbook (1915)](https://archive.org/details/officialhandbook06athl), p. 181. Also: [Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923)](https://www.loc.gov/item/23002979/), p. 69; [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 Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1923.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); [Hand Ball Rules: Four Wall Court](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/ymca-fourwall-1915.md)
- **1928** (Documented): In the A.A.U. text of the 1928 guide two short balls of any kind in succession put the server out (Rule 11), the server stands in a 5-ft serving space between two lines (Rules 1 and 8) and a serve that hits the ceiling or back wall before the floor is short (Rule 10): suggestions 1, 2 and 7 of the 1923 guide's seven, adopted between the two guides ([H-18](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-18.md), [H-135](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-135.md)).
  Source: [Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923)](https://www.loc.gov/item/23002979/), p. 69. 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 Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1923.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)
- **20 November 1922 to 14 October 1994** (Documented): The one-wall short line moved a foot at a time: at least 13 ft in the rules adopted 20 November 1922 ([A.A.U. One-Wall Rules (1922)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md)), 14 ft in 1927 ([One-Wall Playing Rules (in Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 1928) (1927)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1928.md)), 15 ft in 1931 ([A.A.U. One-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931) (1931)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1931.md)) and 16 ft, to its back edge, in the USHA's text of 1994 ([The New and Official United States Handball Association One-Wall Rules With Interpretations 1995 (1994)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/usha-onewall-1994-10-14.md)). Only 15 to 16 ft (1932-1993) is undated.
  Source: [Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923)](https://www.loc.gov/item/23002979/), p. 75. Also: [Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball (American Sports Publishing Company, 1931)](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435007267735), p. 97; [US Handball Association, "Current Rules" (Wayback snapshot of 31 January 1997)](https://web.archive.org/web/19970131180607/http://www.ushandball.org:80/handball/RULES.html); [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: [A.A.U. One-Wall Rules](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md); [One-Wall Playing Rules (in Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 1928)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1928.md); [A.A.U. One-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1931.md); [The New and Official United States Handball Association One-Wall Rules With Interpretations 1995](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/usha-onewall-1994-10-14.md)
- **1903** (Documented): The Irish rules printed in 1903 hold the earliest long-serve rule in this record: the toss must land between a short line and an over line, and three failures are hand out (Gaelic Rules (1903) Rules 18 and 26; [H-13](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-13.md)). The first American one is Brokaw's one-wall book of 1915 ([Rules of American Hand Ball (1916)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/brokaw-american-1916.md)), then the A.A.U. one-wall rules of 1922 ([A.A.U. One-Wall Rules (1922)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md)). No A.A.U. four-wall text of 1920-1931 has one; the USHA's of 1990 is the first held.
  Source: [Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903)](https://www.loc.gov/item/04000015/), p. 33. Also: [James I. Brokaw, How to Play American Hand Ball (1915)](https://www.loc.gov/item/16024697/), pp. 39-43; [Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923)](https://www.loc.gov/item/23002979/), p. 75; [Colorado Handball Association, "The Official United States Handball Association Handball Rules" (Wayback snapshot of 19 May 1998)](https://web.archive.org/web/19980519203944/http://www.cohandball.com:80/official_united_states_handball_.htm)
  Read the rulebooks: [A.A.U. One-Wall Rules](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md); [Rules of American Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/brokaw-american-1916.md); [The Official United States Handball Association Handball Rules With Interpretations and One-Wall and Three-Wall Addendum Revised 1991](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/usha-fourwall-1990-06-20.md)

## What the sources do not show

- The reformed 1890-91 text was never found; the two-line geometry is first printed in Deshong 1893 ([H-91](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-91.md): 'two-line geometry not yet shown' for 1890).
- When 'ace line' became 'short line' in print between 1892 and 1920: no A.A.U. text 1904-1919 ([H-15](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-15.md), [H-67](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-67.md)).
- Distances: the Sun 1889 gives none, 1893 a plate, the A.A.U. 1920-23 none in the rules (only the 1923 diagram); when 20 ft / 15 ft were fixed is unknown ([H-106](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-106.md) for the court).
- One-wall short line from 15 ft (1931) to 16 ft (USHA 1994): undated (no one-wall text 1932-1993); the steps 13, 14 and 15 ft are dated to 1922, 1927 and 1931.
- The Irish 'toss' and the jerk ban between 1903 and 2020: no IHC text.
- The 1902 Egan v Drew service condition is now a fact ([May 1902 Egan–Drew conditions: 21 aces, service from anywhere inside a short line (not a centre space), 'alley cracker' ball, each player may use his own ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1902.md)); [H-99](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-99.md), that the 'centre space' was the general championship convention before 1902, still rests on that single report.
- The year the A.A.U. four-wall text went from three short serves to two of any kind (between the 1923 and 1928 guides): the 1926-27 guides are unseen ([H-18](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-18.md), [H-135](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-135.md)).

## Eras this thread crosses

- [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 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 court shrinks: 60 x 30 in Ireland, 65 x 24 to 20 x 40 in America](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads/the-court-shrinks.md)
- [Who writes the rules: court keeper, newspaper, federation, board](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads/who-writes-the-rules.md)

## Rulebooks cited here

- [Hand Ball Rules](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/james-fourwall-1873.md)
- [The set rules of the game](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/sun-fourwall-1889.md)
- [Rules and Explanations](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/deshong-fourwall-1893.md)
- [Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/spalding-fourwall-1886.md)
- [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 of American Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/brokaw-american-1916.md)
- [Hand Ball](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1920.md)
- [A.A.U. One-Wall Rules](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1923.md)
- [One-Wall Playing Rules (in Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 1928)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1928.md)
- [Official Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-fourwall-1923.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)
- [Hand Ball Rules: Four Wall Court](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/ymca-fourwall-1915.md)
- [A.A.U. One-Wall Rules (in Charles J. O'Connell, How to Play Handball, 1931)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/aau-onewall-1931.md)
- [The New and Official United States Handball Association One-Wall Rules With Interpretations 1995](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/usha-onewall-1994-10-14.md)
- [The Official United States Handball Association Handball Rules With Interpretations and One-Wall and Three-Wall Addendum Revised 1991](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/usha-fourwall-1990-06-20.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)
- [Colorado Handball Association, "The Official United States Handball Association Handball Rules" (Wayback snapshot of 19 May 1998)](https://web.archive.org/web/19980519203944/http://www.cohandball.com:80/official_united_states_handball_.htm)
- [Ed James, Manual of sporting rules (1873)](https://archive.org/details/manualofsporting00jame)
- [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/)
- [Robert L. Ripley (ed.), Spalding's Official Handball Guide (1923)](https://www.loc.gov/item/23002979/)
- [The Houston Daily Post (Houston), 13 March 1898, p. 15](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86071197/1898-03-13/ed-1/?sp=15)
- [The Jersey City News (Jersey City), 23 May 1902, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn87068097/1902-05-23/ed-1/?sp=3)
- [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), 10 September 1892, p. 5](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1892-09-10/ed-1/?sp=5)
- [The Sun (New York), 17 March 1889, p. 7](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1889-03-17/ed-1/?sp=7)
- [The Sun (New York), 21 November 1890, p. 4](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1890-11-21/ed-1/?sp=4)
- [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), 27 October 1890, p. 4](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1890-10-27/ed-1/?sp=4)
- [US Handball Association, "Current Rules" (Wayback snapshot of 31 January 1997)](https://web.archive.org/web/19970131180607/http://www.ushandball.org:80/handball/RULES.html)
- [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/)

## Corrections

Found a mistake, or a source we missed? Email perfectshipllc@gmail.com with the subject "History correction: The serve: one ace line, then two lines, then the short line (/history/threads/the-serve/)". Please name the page and, if you can, the source.