Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-03-09


| world, and years of play will add years Of
| life to any devotee of the sport. l have
been playing handball for 40 years, and
never had doctor. At so am in the very
best physical condition, and attribute my
| excellent health to the beneficent effect of
| handball.
One of the latest evidences of the advance
of the game in popular favor is the fact
that the girls and boys of the Adelphi
academy in Brooklyn play twice u week
in the gymnasium of the school and not
only heartily enjoy the sport, but are enthu-
siastic in praise of it as health giving pas
| time The Adelphi girls are about the first
of their sex to play the game, but they take
to it as naturally as the proverbial duck
| takes to water, and many of them are al
ready very proficient players. The girls
| who participate in the game range in age
from the young miss of 10 to the young
lady of 10. They are modestly and becom-
ingly attired in gymnasium suits of blue
flannel, with full Turkish trousers, blouse
waists and tennis shoes, and every game
brings the roses into their cheeks and adds
to their store of health and strength.
There is hardly muscle in the human
body that is not brought into play again
and again during the progress of a game of
handball. The lively moving about the
court to intercept the ball calls into use all
the muscles of the legs. Serving the ball
or returning it keeps both hands and arms
busy, and as the body is constantly assum-
ing different positions, according to the
varying height of the ball when it is struck,
all the muscles of the arms, hands, back,
chest and neck are used every minute dur
ing the game
The value of handball as part of boxers
training is acknowledged by the greatest
opponents of the manly art in the world.
James J. Corbett is an enthusiastic cham
pion of the game and doubtless owes much
of his phenomenal Quickness on his feet to
his faithful practice in handball court.
John L. Sullivan has also testified to the
merit of handball as an adjunct of a box
ers training. In fact, any man who wishes
to reduce his avoirdupois and increase his
muscle and endurance could choose no bet
ter pastime for the purpose than handball.
The origin of the sport is lost in the mists
of antiquity, but it is said that it was played
in Rome 20 years before the time of Christ
The game has been played in Ireland for
over a century, but the Spaniards claim to
have introduced the sport to the sons of
Erin. Tennis and rackets both resemble
handball somewhat and were undoubtedly
taken from it. One great point in favor of
handball is its simplicity. Any child may
be taught it in five minutes, and no compli-
Gated apparatus is required. The hands,
small rubber ball and the side of barn are
all that are needed for the game in its prim-
tive state. Two or four men usually play,
and the idea of the game is for one party to
knock the ball with the hand against the
side of barn or the end of a court in such
manner that the opposing party may be I'M
able to return the ball against the wall
again by either striking it on the fly or on
the first bound Twenty-one aces consti-
tute game, and an ace is made when a
man serving or returning the ball does it in
such a manner that his opponent cannot
drive the ball against the wall again.
The approved court is naturally much
more elaborate place than the side of a barn.
The Brooklyn Handball clubs court, which
| built for my worlds championship match