Clause history · American four-wall
Rule 2 Rule 2: how the wording changed
5 rulebooks state this rule, from 1873 to 1923. The wording was reworded or changed 1 time.
How to read this page
- Added words are underlined and sit inside [+ +].
Removed wordsare struck through and sit inside [- -].- Each rulebook says in words what kind of change it is: unchanged (same wording as the rulebook it was compared with); punctuation only (only punctuation, spacing or capitals differ); moved (same wording, in another place or under another number); reworded (the sense is the same, said in other words); changed (the rule now says something different).
- A program matched each clause with the one before it. Automatic matches were made by the program alone; machine-reviewed ones were also checked by a second program. A person has not checked either, so a wrong match is possible.
Rulebook by rulebook
The table has one row per rulebook; each date jumps to its wording below.
| Date | Rulebook | Clauses, by kind of change |
|---|---|---|
| 1873 | James's Four-Wall Rules, 1873 | 1 first recorded |
| 1886 | Spalding Four-Wall Rules, 1886 | 1 unchanged |
| 17 March 1889 | The Sun Four-Wall Rules, 1889 | 1 moved |
| 1 January 1920 | A.A.U. Four-Wall Rules, 1 January 1920 | 1 first recorded |
| 1923 | A.A.U. Four-Wall Rules, 1923 | 1 reworded |
The wording
Each part of the rule is followed on its own, oldest rulebook first. Rulebooks of other codes that borrowed the wording appear in their place by date.
Rule 2, part 1 of 2
Begins: “A game to be played by two persons shall…”
1873 James's Four-Wall Rules
A game to be played by two persons shall be called a single hand game, by four persons a double game.
- 1886 Spalding Four-Wall Rules Unchanged automatic Read the rule
17 March 1889 The Sun Four-Wall Rules
Compared with Spalding Four-Wall Rules, 1886.
Same words as the rulebook it was compared with. Nothing to mark.
Rule 2, part 2 of 2
Begins: “Ball shall be Standard Rubber hand ball.”
1 January 1920 A.A.U. Four-Wall Rules
Ball shall be Standard Rubber hand ball.
1923 A.A.U. Four-Wall Rules
Compared with A.A.U. Four-Wall Rules, 1 January 1920.
Ball shall be
Standard Rubber hand ball.standard rubber handball. (Spalding's No. 101 ball is used in the national championship tournaments.)14 words added, 4 removed.
All rules: clause history. The family tree is at Rulebooks.