# The 1880s

In: [Learn](https://handball.theperfectship.com/learn.md) > [History](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history.md) > [Years and decades](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years.md) > The 1880s

35 dated items, 1 rulebook edition and 0 championship result rows are in the record for the 1880s.

## Years with their own page

- [1880](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1880.md) (3 dated items)
- [1883](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1883.md) (3 dated items)
- [1884](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1884.md) (9 dated items)
- [1885](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1885.md) (3 dated items)
- [1887](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1887.md) (4 dated items)
- [1888](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1888.md) (3 dated items)
- [1889](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1889.md) (4 dated items)

## Dated items

### [1880](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1880.md)

- **October 1880 to November 1880**: First Auckland handball court (Gleeson's hotel, Oct 1880) and an Oamaru court 60 x 27 ft (Shamrock Hotel, Nov 1880) Source: [North Otago Times, 17 November 1880 (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NOT18801117.2.6)
- **26 October 1880**: Philip Casey, handball player and Alderman of Brooklyn's Tenth Ward, arrested on a charge of fraudulent voter registration Source: [The Sun (New York), 27 October 1880, p. 1](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1880-10-27/ed-1/?sp=1), p. 1
- **23 November 1880**: Courtney (New York) beats Burke (Philadelphia) in the closing series of a $100-a-side handball match, Madison Street, New York Source: [The Sun (New York), 24 November 1880, p. 1](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1880-11-24/ed-1/?sp=1), p. 1

### 1881

- **18 September 1881**: Chicago doubles stake match billed as the amateur championship of the United States (Cushing & Cullen v Mansfield & Malloy), Lynch's court Source: [Chicago Daily Tribune (Chicago), 19 September 1881, p. 8](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84031492/1881-09-19/ed-1/?sp=8), p. 8
- **27 November 1881**: International hand ball match, Montreal, between a Chicago player and a second player, a draw Source: [Omaha Daily Bee (Omaha), 28 November 1881, p. 1](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn99021999/1881-11-28/ed-1/?sp=1), p. 1

### 1882

- **January 1882**: Invercargill fire destroys the handball court of the Hibernian Hotel Source: [Otago Daily Times, 6 January 1882, "The Invercargill Fire" (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT18820106.2.30)
- **18 March 1882**: P. Hogan, a former champion of the south of Ireland, wins the Gleeson handball cup in Auckland from Sweeney Source: [Auckland Star, 21 March 1882 (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS18820321.2.17)

### [1883](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1883.md)

- **30 May 1883**: McAuliffe of Timaru beats Hogan of Auckland, 25 a side, at Auckland (and a 40-a-side match on the Saturday) Source: [Evening Post, 31 May 1883, "Telegrams" (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP18830531.2.24)
- **10 June 1883**: Patrick Regan, keeper of a hand ball and racquet court in Madison Street, New York, shot dead by a policeman on a Sunday night Source: [The Sun (New York), 11 June 1883, p. 1](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1883-06-11/ed-1/?sp=1), p. 1
- **13 December 1883**: Notice, not a report: a double-handed match 'will be played' on Thursday 13 Dec 1883 at Sweeny's Murray Hill court, 159 East 35th Street, New York, Alderman Phil Casey and ex-Alderman Jim Dunn of Brooklyn against Wm. Courtney and Frank Reynolds; no report of the match has been found Source: [The Society News (Wilmington), 15 December 1883, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88053091/1883-12-15/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3

### [1884](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1884.md)

- **by 1884**: GAA Handball's own history: handball 'played for over a thousand years', the 1527 Statute of Galway against ball games at town walls, a Ballinrobe court of 1776, alleys cataloged from the 1700s (GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)
- **1884**: The Gaelic Athletic Association is founded and handball is 'officially included as one of the sports to be promoted' (GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)): the end of the unorganised game. Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)
- **1884**: GAA founded; handball included (GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)). Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)
- **1884-1903**: The 28 GAA rules are adopted some time in this window (H-13): Gaelic Rules (1903), first printed in America in Deshong/Egan 1903 as 'Gaelic Rules'; the same setting in 1914 and 1915, reset for Spalding 1923 ('short wall', H-55). Source: [Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903)](https://www.loc.gov/item/04000015/), p. 33
- **by 1884**: GAA Handball's own history page gives the game's antiquity in Ireland (a 1527 Galway statute against ball games at the town walls; a Ballinrobe court of 1776). Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)
- **1884**: The Gaelic Athletic Association is founded with handball among the sports it promotes (secondary: GAA Handball's history page). Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)
- **1884**: Ireland: the GAA founds itself with handball among its sports; its 28 rules (Gaelic Rules (1903)) are 'the rules of the Gaelic Athletic Association of Ireland'. Source: [Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903)](https://www.loc.gov/item/04000015/), p. 33
- **12 March 1884**: Four-handed match at Sweeny's court, 35th St: Casey and P. H. Smith (St Louis) v Dunne and Courtney (Brooklyn), best 3 of 5 Source: [The Sun (New York), 13 March 1884, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1884-03-13/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3
- **9 October 1884**: 'Championship match' Alderman James Dunne v Bernard McQuade, and exhibition Casey v Dunne, Sweeny's court; return match 16 Oct Source: [The Sun (New York), 10 October 1884, p. 1](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1884-10-10/ed-1/?sp=1), p. 1

### [1885](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1885.md)

- **8 April 1885**: Casey, 'champion of the world', v James Smith, 'champion of St. Louis', and Michael Landy at Sweeny's court Source: [The Sun (New York), 9 April 1885, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1885-04-09/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3
- **10 November 1885**: Phil Casey of Brooklyn beat Ed W. Carner of Cleveland 84-33 at hand ball in Cleveland Source: [St. Paul Daily Globe (Saint Paul), 16 November 1885, p. 4](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn90059522/1885-11-16/ed-1/?sp=4), p. 4
- **26 November 1885**: Annual Thanksgiving Day championship matches at Sweeny's court, 35th St: Casey and Smith v Dunne and Courtney Source: [The Sun (New York), 27 November 1885, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1885-11-27/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3

### 1886

- **1886**: Spalding's Hand Book of Sporting Rules and Training (compiled by G. H. Benedict, 1886) prints 'Hand Ball', 23 rules: the James 1873 code with a new rule 4 1/2 on scoring by 'service' or 'return' (Hand Ball (1886)). Source: [George H. Benedict, Spalding's hand book of sporting rules and training (1886)](https://archive.org/details/spaldingshandboo00bene), p. 45
- **22 February 1886**: Ex-Alderman Dunne v Sweeny's Spaniard 'for the championship of America', $200 a side, best 5 of 9 games of 21; the Spaniard won Source: [The Sun (New York), 23 February 1886, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1886-02-23/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3

### [1887](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1887.md)

- **4 August 1887**: First ten games of the Casey v Lawlor international match, Grattan Street racquet court, Cork: Lawlor won six, Casey four (eight played on 4 Aug, interrupted by a gallery panic) Source: [The Sun (New York), 5 August 1887, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-08-05/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3
- **23 November 1887**: 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](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-11-30/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3
- **27 November 1887**: The Sun describes a 'regulation' handball court (c.40 ft high, 50-60 ft long, c.30 ft wide; a line across the court 25 ft from the front wall with 3-ft semicircles) and says handball 'has its own code of rules' Source: [The Sun (New York), 27 November 1887, p. 11](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-11-27/ed-1/?sp=11), p. 11
- **29 November 1887**: 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 Source: [The Sun (New York), 30 November 1887, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1887-11-30/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3

### [1888](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1888.md)

- **by 28 May 1888**: J. A. Keenan, 'champion handball player of Australia', challenges Casey for the championship of the world Source: [Evening Post, 28 May 1888, "Additional Mail News" (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP18880528.2.13)
- **21 December 1888**: 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](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030193/1888-12-21/ed-2/?sp=1), p. 1
- **25 December 1888**: Courtney v Lawlor, first seven of fifteen games for $100 at Casey's court, Brooklyn; Courtney won four of the seven Source: [The Sun (New York), 26 December 1888, p. 3](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1888-12-26/ed-1/?sp=3), p. 3

### [1889](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1889.md)

- **1889**: [The set rules of the game (1889)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/rulebooks/sun-fourwall-1889.md) Source: [The Sun (New York), 17 March 1889, p. 7](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1889-03-17/ed-1/?sp=7), p. 7
- **1 January 1889**: Courtney, ill, forfeits the second part of the fifteen-game Courtney v Lawlor match at Casey's court Source: [The Sun (New York), 2 January 1889, p. 6](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1889-01-02/ed-1/?sp=6), p. 6
- **about March 1889**: The Brooklyn Handball Club holds a three-class tournament at its Degraw Street court, March-April 1889, with gold medals presented by the club Source: [The Sun (New York), 12 March 1889, p. 6](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1889-03-12/ed-1/?sp=6), p. 6
- **17 March 1889**: The Sun prints 'the set rules of the game' of handball: 21 aces, ball about 2 in and 1 1/3 oz, ace line in the centre of the court, hand-out/ace scoring, hinders, a referee chosen by the players Source: [The Sun (New York), 17 March 1889, p. 7](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1889-03-17/ed-1/?sp=7), p. 7

## What the record does not hold

- The record holds nothing for the 1880s under championship results: no result row is dated to the decade.

## Neighboring decades

- Previous: [The 1870s](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1870s.md)
- Next: [The 1890s](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1890s.md)
- [All years and decades](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years.md)

## Corrections

Found a mistake, or a source we missed? Email perfectshipllc@gmail.com with the subject "History correction: The 1880s (/history/years/1880s/)". Please name the page and, if you can, the source.