Handball

Decade

The 1900s

52 dated items, 2 rulebook editions and 0 championship result rows are in the record for the 1900s.

Years with their own page

A year gets a page when the record holds at least 3 dated items for it.

Dated items

1900

1901

1902

1903

  • 1903: Ireland, Gaelic Rules (1903) R21 and R24: a struck ball that afterwards strikes the opponent is a hinder, played over; and 'Should a player obstruct another in such a manner that he cannot play, the judge may give a hinder' (wilful: ace or Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 33
  • by 1903: A.A.U. 1903 R6: the hinder narrowed to a ball striking the server before reaching the opponent, or the opponent during service; a served ball hitting the receiver becomes a hinder instead of an ace (reversed from 1893); each player 'must Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 41
  • 1903: The 28 Irish rules, as printed in 1903, hold the earliest long-serve rule in this record (Gaelic Rules (1903)): the toss must land between a short line and an over line. Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 33
  • 1903-2020: 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 Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 33
  • 1903: 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 Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 41
  • 1903: 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). Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 33
  • by 1903: The A.A.U.'s 'Revised Handball Rules' (14 rules, singles only; Revised Handball Rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of America, For the Government of the National Championship in Singles (1903)) and Deshong's rewritten 'Rules and Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 41
  • 1903: Rules and Explanations (1903) Source: Michael Egan, Handball and How to Play It (1903), p. 12
  • 12 April 1903: Mike Egan beat Louis Keegan of Chicago 8 games to 1 (seven straight in the first half, said by the 12 Apr wire to have been played recently at Jersey City, then 1-1 at Chicago on 12 Apr), $200 a side, billed the handball championship of the United States; a San Antonio paper of 21 Mar only announced that the series would begin that night Source: San Antonio Daily Light (San Antonio), 21 March 1903, p. 6, p. 6
  • 23 June 1903: Press (Worcester Spy, wire): Phil Casey held the world's handball championship for 30 years until he resigned it seven years earlier Source: The Worcester Spy (Worcester), 24 June 1903, p. 3, p. 3
  • 23 June 1903: Egan beat Timothy Twohill of Kanturk 7-0 at Jersey City (23 Jun) in the first half of a best-of-15 'international' match for the world championship, $1,500; second half in Ireland 12 July; Phil Casey referee, Dr. A. M. Gillen scorer Source: The Minneapolis Journal (Minneapolis), 26 May 1903, p. 18, p. 18

1904

1905

  • 12 January 1905 to 27 January 1905: Oliver Drew beat Francisco Y. Ordoizoiti (France and Spain) at Tarrant's court, Jersey City, for the 'international handball championship' (begun 12 Jan, won 27 Jan); straight handball against the French game of 'reves' Source: Waterbury Evening Democrat (Waterbury), 13 January 1905, p. 9, p. 9
  • 17 March 1905: Mike Egan, 'the world's champion', in early tuberculosis; Olympic Club directors gave him a purse; benefit handball games at the Olympic Club (Dunne Jr. and Hampton v. Fitzgerald and Cory) on 19 Mar Source: Waterbury Evening Democrat (Waterbury), 18 March 1905, p. 9, p. 9
  • 8 April 1905: Dispute over the Yale handball champion (Moore 11-1 v. DeForest 10-1) submitted to 'the handball expert of the American Amateur Athletic union' Source: The New Haven Union (New Haven), 8 April 1905, p. 1, p. 1
  • 27 June 1905 to 30 June 1905: Lewis and Clark Exposition, Portland: amateur handball tournament 'for the championship of the Pacific coast' in hard-ball and soft-ball events; Louis Levy (Olympic Club, San Francisco) won the singles Source: The Salt Lake Herald (Salt Lake City), 27 June 1905, p. 7, p. 7
  • 29 August 1905: Spalding Athletic Library list: 'No. 13 - How to Play Hand Ball. By the world's champion, Michael Egan of Jersey City. This book has been rewritten and brought up to date in every particular' Source: The Spokane Press (Spokane), 29 August 1905, p. 2, p. 2

1906

  • 1 April 1906: Oliver Drew, 'fast coming to be recognized as the champion handball player of the world', beat John Howes and Jack Flaherty 2 games to 1 at Tarrant's court; James Dunne Jr., who had twice beaten Drew, beat P. J. Corby at the Brooklyn court Source: Waterbury Evening Democrat (Waterbury), 2 April 1906, p. 9, p. 9
  • 1 June 1906: Press notice: a 'coming match' between Brooklyn's P. J. Corby and 'Champion Mike Egan' (no report found) Source: The Pascoag Herald (Pascoag), 1 June 1906, p. 3, p. 3
  • 6 June 1906: James Dunne, Superintendent of Sewers in Brooklyn, and his son James Dunne Jr. sail for Europe to play handball in Ireland and unveil a Cork monument Source: The Sun (New York), 6 June 1906, p. 8, p. 8
  • 9 November 1906: Chicago's Charles Schuttler and Thomas Lee beat Oliver Drew ('the national champion') and John Egan, and Daniel Shea, in the opening tournament of the new Cincinnati gymnasium courts, called 'the greatest handball tournament ever held in this country' Source: The Minneapolis Journal (Minneapolis), 10 November 1906, p. 8, p. 8
  • 8 December 1906: Rock Island Argus quotes the history section of 'Spaulding's athletic guide on the game': handball 'unquestionably of Celtic origin', earliest mention in Ireland 1,879 years before the Christian era Source: Rock Island Argus (Rock Island), 8 December 1906, p. 3, p. 3

1907

1908

1909

  • by 1909: The Y.M.C.A. has hand-ball rules of its own; the 1909 Spalding index entry for them (Y.M.C.A. Hand Ball Rules (index entry) (1909), H-07) is very probably the single-wall text of 1900 (Hand Ball Rules (1900)), not a four-wall code; by 1908 Source: [James E.] Sullivan, Official Sporting Rules (1909)
  • 16 February 1909: Obituary of Edward J. Sweeney: his father and he established the handball and racquet court in 34th St, opposite the old police station, where Phil Casey and Jim Dunn had many matches Source: The New Haven Union (New Haven), 16 February 1909, p. 9, p. 9
  • 6 April 1909: Washington Y.M.C.A. handball described as 'a newly developed sport'; its team played Baltimore in March and meets the Oriole Association on 10 April Source: Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 6 April 1909, p. 13, p. 13
  • 11 July 1909: John J. Bowles (Limerick) and James Kelly (Brooklyn) play for the 'International Handball Championship of the World': best of 15 games of 21 aces, seven at Limerick (5-11 July) and the rest at Brooklyn in September; Bowles outclassed Kelly in the first half at Limerick on 11 July Source: The Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram (Richmond), 15 January 1909, p. 2, p. 2

What the record does not hold

  • The record holds nothing for the 1900s under championship results: no result row is dated to the decade.