# The 1970s 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 1970s 17 dated items, 0 rulebook editions and 58 championship result rows are in the record for the 1970s. ## Years with their own page - [1970](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1970.md) (3 dated items) - [1971](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1971.md) (5 dated items) - [1978](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1978.md) (3 dated items) ## Dated items ### [1970](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1970.md) - **1970-1972**: The Irish Handball Council opens an indoor alley with three glass walls at Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland's first, and recommends glass walls for all alleys (conflicting) An Irish Handball Council note of 1972 says the three-glass-wall alley opened 'a year ago', while 1971 magazine reports place the court in use in the autumn of 1970, so the date is given as 1970 to 1972. Source: [Handball (USHA), October 1972](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1972/1972_hb_octd0e8.pdf?la=en&hash=048F5702032D7A2B7CD8050A3AC52C8791722B54) - **1970**: Ray Doherty's 'Handball', printed in Ireland in 1970, is reviewed by the USHA as the first instructional book on the game to come out of Ireland Source: [Handball (USHA), October 1971](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1971/1971_hb_oct203d.pdf?la=en&hash=3FF63D693EAE6402DDAF1DC9A53C3B6DAB3AAB8E), PDF p. 67 - **October 1970**: The 1970 world handball championships are held in Dublin, where Pat Kirby takes the world title (the issues do not say in which code) Source: [Handball (USHA), October 1971](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1971/1971_hb_oct203d.pdf?la=en&hash=3FF63D693EAE6402DDAF1DC9A53C3B6DAB3AAB8E), PDF p. 55 ### [1971](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1971.md) - **1971**: 'Championship Handball plus Official Handball Rules', a USHA publication cited from 1971 to 1983 (Championship Handball plus Official Handball Rules (1971), citation-only): the first USHA rules publication this record can name. Source: [Internet Archive, full-text search for "hand ball" AND "rules" AND "1886" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://archive.org/) - **1971**: The first series of All-Ireland finals is played in the new ball-court at Croke Park in 1971 before about 1,000, and shown on television Source: [Handball (USHA), October 1971](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1971/1971_hb_oct203d.pdf?la=en&hash=3FF63D693EAE6402DDAF1DC9A53C3B6DAB3AAB8E), PDF p. 55 - **June 1971**: The USHA's magazine Ace is renamed Handball with vol. 21 no. 3 (June 1971), after twenty years under the name chosen in a contest Source: [Handball (USHA), June 1971](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1971/1971_hb_june8284.pdf?la=en&hash=1261267EC6955F8D6C15CAC5B2AE23C6313E0238) - **13 August 1971**: The president of the Irish Handball Council visits the USHA's Skokie headquarters on 13 August 1971 and talk turns to a common court size Source: [Handball (USHA), October 1971](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1971/1971_hb_oct203d.pdf?la=en&hash=3FF63D693EAE6402DDAF1DC9A53C3B6DAB3AAB8E), PDF p. 12 - **December 1971**: The USHA's December 1971 tribute to Charles O'Connell lists his handball diary from a first one-wall court at Brighton Beach in 1909 to the world championship of 1964 Source: [Handball (USHA), December 1971](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1971/1971_hb_dec24fa.pdf?la=en&hash=ACEEF2D04DD71FFF1E5D5CB043508DFA62593534) ### 1972 - **1972**: The Irish-American Handball Association of the Bronx plans in 1972 to send an American handball team to Ireland in September, a home-and-home series with Irish club players being its own plan; it says Council officials take 'a great interest' Source: [Handball (USHA), August 1972](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1972/1972_hb_aug70ff.pdf?la=en&hash=C76D0819F2754D5FD03B01481CC3483E7AA732DD), PDF p. 53 - **June 1972**: The USHA prints 'Official USHA Four-Wall Handball Rules' in its June 1972 magazine, naming the rules chairman and a Seattle drafter of the first official USHA rules Source: [Handball (USHA), June 1972](https://archive.teamusa.com/-/media/usa_racquetball/documents/magazine/archived-issues/handball-magazine/1972/1972_hb_june1bc3.pdf?la=en&hash=9D26F4A7CBAD5CB11FD9F1F28B8407F5F171D84B) ### 1974 - **1974**: The USHA four-wall nationals roll first lists a 'Pro Singles' champion in 1974 (Knoxville), beside an Open Singles title that returns in 1975 and 1976 and is dropped after Source: [US Handball Association, "National Champions" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.ushandball.org/about/national-champions/) ### 1975 - **1975**: All-Ireland 4-wall (40x20) senior championship begins (All-Ireland 4-Wall Championships, firstHeld 1975). Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, 4-wall championship roll of honour (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/competitions/rolls-of-honour) - **1975**: The GAA Handball roll of honour for the All-Ireland senior 4-wall championship opens in 1975, six years after the first 40 x 20 court Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, 4-wall championship roll of honour (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/competitions/rolls-of-honour) ### 1976 - **1976**: 'Championship Handball by the Experts', edited by John W. Reznik (1976), collects selected articles from Handball magazine Source: [HathiTrust Digital Library, catalog search for "United States Handball Association" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/) ### [1978](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1978.md) - **1978**: Start by hypothesis (H-04, H-107): the USHA as sole US governing body. (hypothesis) - **1978**: USHA becomes the sole US governing body (H-04, secondary; H-107): the end of the era is a claim, not a finding. (hypothesis) - **1978**: USHA alone (H-04, H-107; secondary). (hypothesis) ## Championships held - [All-Ireland 4-Wall Championships](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/championships/gaa-all-ireland-4-wall.md) - [All-Ireland 60x30 Softball Championships](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/championships/gaa-all-ireland-60x30-softball.md) - [All-Ireland Hardball Championships](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/championships/gaa-all-ireland-hardball.md) - [USHA national four-wall handball championships](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/championships/usha-national-four-wall-championships.md) - [USHA national one-wall handball championships](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/championships/usha-national-one-wall-championships.md) - [USHA national three-wall handball championships](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/championships/usha-national-three-wall-championships.md) ## What the record does not hold - The record holds nothing for the 1970s under rulebook editions: no edition dated to the decade is listed. ## Neighboring decades - Previous: [The 1960s](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1960s.md) - Next: [The 1980s](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/years/1980s.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 1970s (/history/years/1970s/)". Please name the page and, if you can, the source.