Wo. 13. Group Xn. ■ OFFICIAL RULES ^ PRICE 10 CENTS "H |GV 1017 • ^i2 B7 11916 TCopy 1 ATHLETIC I/IBRARY ..Auxiliary Series. m . ,„„ *V-*^ ^fllfllllff^lllllfffff'lfllff^^ffCf iiiii'...'', 21 Warren StreetyNewYorK III iiiiiiiiii(iiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii//iiiiitiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiii(iiiiiiiiiittiiiiiniiiiiiiil i' ''iiitlll'.t'.'tiilil 'ill' '. r. i Athletic GoODS^ I . • J N THE FOLLOWING CITIES Ky.tutfA-.«:ai:!.v«iJBii.,ti S NEW YORK Downlown- 124-I2S Nassan St. iipiovn-szo Fifth Avenne NEWARK. N. J. 589 Broad Street PHILADELPHIA. PA. I2I0 Chestnut Street BOSTON. MASS. 74 Summer Street. BUFFALO, N. Y. 611 Main Street SYRACUSE. N. Y. 357 So. Warren Street ROCHESTER. N. Y. 40 CUnton Ave., North ALBANY. N. Y. 52 Slate Street LONDON,' ENGLAND Higii Hoi'bom. W. C. 7S. Cheapsidc. E. 'C. Wal End Branch 29, Hay marltet, S.W. UVEBPOOL 72, Lord Street ' BIRMINGHAM, ENG. New Street House INDIANAPOLIS, IND. 136 N. 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FRANCE * < 3S BoBlcTud «cs Cai 27 Rue Tronchet i- a M Cofflihimleations directed to \, G. SPALDING A BROS., at any able amount in ctcau of our catalofuo aifcM to cover cxpreM and otbar charaet. -"""■*''""^"" ^ THE SPALDING TRADE-MARK IS REGISTERED IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, AND WE HAVE ALSO PROTECTED OUR INTERESTS av 39 REGISTRATIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. IN- FRINGERS ARE WARNER #Tr WE GUARANTEE TO EACH tJI PURCHJUER of^anartide beuiiif ditioiu and fair treatmeot. grs WE AGREE to repair or replace. ^ freual guarantee tag attached to certain arttclea) and accompanied by a letter from the uaer giving bb narao mn4 addrcea* and explaining the claim. ■ .■.■■■..,i.....-i......,...-.^^ TRADE MARK QUALITY AND SELLING POLICY CoNStrruTE THE Solid Foundation of the Spalding Business m SiiiiiiiiHl -eijJftl>m«ui ^mm SPALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY SPALDING OFFICIAIi ANNUALS No. 1. SPALDING'S OFFICLVL BASE BALL GUIDE Price lOc No. 2. SPALDING'S OFFICIAL FOOT BALL GUIDE Price IOg. No. 6. 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SPALDING'S OFFICIAL LAWN TENNIS ANNUAL In addition to above, any 25 cent "Red Cover" book listed in Spalding's Athletic Library will be bound in flexible binding for 50 cents each ; or any two 10 cent " Green Cover " or *' Blue Cover " books in one volume for 50 cents. (Continued on the next page.) ANY OF THE ABOVE BOOKS MAILED POSTPAID UPON RECEIPT OF PRICE 6-80-16 SPALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY No, 202 No. 219 No. 223 No. 224 No. 225 No. 226 No. 227 No. 228 No. 229 No. 230 No. 232 No. 350 No. 355 No. 231 No. 356 No. Group I. Base Ball "Blue Cover" Series, each number 10c. No. 1 Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide How to Play Base Ball Ready Reckoner of Base Ball How to Bat [Percentages How to Play the Outfield How to Play First Base How to Play Second Base How to Play Third Base How to Play Shortstop How to Catch How to Pitch How to Run Bases How to Score Minor League Base Ball Guide ^How to Organize a Base Ball League [Club How to Organize a Base Ball How to Manage a Base Ball Club How toTrain a Base BallTeam How to Captain a Base Ball How to Umpire [Team ^Technical Base Ball Terms Official Book National League of Prof. Base Ball Clubs Spalding's Official Indoor Base Ball Guide "Red Cover " Series, each number 25o. No. 59R. Official Base Ball Record (including College records) Group 11. Foot Ball "Blue Cover " Series, each number 10c. No. 2 Spalding's Official Foot Ball No. 335 How to Play Rugby [Guide No. 351 Official Rugby Guide No. 358 Official College Soccer Guide "Red Cover" Series, each number 25c. No. 39R. How to Play Soccer. No. 47R. 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Distance and Cross Country the next page.) ANY OF ICE ABOVE BOOKS MAILED POSTPAID UPON RECEIPT OF PRICE &30-16 SPAIiDINe ATHLETIC LIBRARY Group VIII. School Athletics "Blue Cover " Series, each number 10c. No. 246 Athletic Training for School- boys No. 313 Public Schools Athletic League Official Handbook No. 331 Schoolyard Athletics "Red Cover " Series, each number 25c. No. 61R. School Tactics and Maze Run- ning; Children's Games. Group IX. Water Sports "Blue Cover " Series, each number 10c. No. 128 How to Row No. 129 Water Polo "Red Cover" Series, each number 25c. No. 36R. Speed Swimming. No. 37R. How to Swim. No. 60R. Canoeing and Camping. „ V Athletic Games for Group \. Women and Girls "Blue Cover" Series, each number 10c. No. 314 Girls' Athletics "Red Cover" Series, each number 25c. No. 38R. Field Hockey. No. 41R. Newcomb. Group XI. Lawn and Field Games "Blue Cover " Series, each number 10c. No. 167 Quoits No. 170 Push Ball No. 180 Ring Hockey No. 199 Equestrian Polo No. 201 How to Play Lacrosse No. 207 Lawn Bowls "Red Cover" Series, each number, 25c. No. 6R. Cricket, and How to Play It. Group XII. Miscellaneous Games "Blue Cover" Series, each number 10c. No. 13 Hand Ball No. 282 Roller Skating Guide "Red Cover" Series, each number 25c. No. 43R. Archery, R o q u e , Croquet, English Croquet, Lawn Hockey, Tether Ball, Clock Golf, Golf-Croquet, Hand Tennis, Hand Polo, Wicket Polo, Badminton, Drawing Room Hockey, Garden Hockey, Basket Goal, Volley Ball and Pin Ball. No. 49R. How to Bowl. No. 50R. Court Games. Group XIII. Manly Sports "Blue Cover " Series, each number 10c. tSTo. 191 How to Punch the Bag ^'Red Cover" Series, each number 25c. No. IIR. Fencing Foil Work lUus- No. 18R. Wrestling. [trated. No. 19R. Professional Wrestling. No. 21R. Jiu Jitsu. No. 22R. Indian Clubs and Dumb Bells and Pulley Weights. No. 24R. Dumb Bell Exercises. No. 25R. Boxing, No. 30R. The Art of Fencing. No. 44R. How to Wrestle. No. 56R. Tumbling for Amateurs and Ground Tumbling. Group XIV. Calisthenics "Blue Cover " Series, each number 10c. No. 214 Graded Calisthenics and Dumb Bell Drills "Red Cover" Series, each number 25c. No. lOR. Single Stick Drill. No. 16R. Team Wand Drill. No. 27R. Calisthenic Drills and Fancy Marching for Class Room. Group XV. Gymnastics "Blue Cover" Series, each nurnber 10c. No. 124 How to Become a Gymnast No. 254 Barnjum Bar Bell Drill No. 287 Fancy Dumb Bell and March- ing Drills "Red Cover" Series, each number 25c. No. 12R. Exercises on the Side Horse. No. 13R. Horizontal Bar Exercises. No. 14R. Trapeze, Long Horse and Rope Exercises. [Rings. No. 15R. Exercises on the Flying No. 34R. Grading of Gym. Exercises. No. 35R. Exercises on Parallel Bars. No. 40R. Indoor and Outdoor Gym- nastic Games. No. 52R. Pyramid Building, with Wands, Chairs and Ladders Group XVI. Home Exercising "Blue Cover " Series, each num,ber 10c. No. 149 Scientific Physical Training and Care of the Body No. 161 Ten Minutes' Exercise for No. 185 Hints on Health [Busy Men No. 238 Muscle Building [nasties. No. 285 Health by Muscular Gym- No. 325 Twenty-Minute Exercises "Red Cover" Series, each number 25c. No. 7R. Physical Training Simphfied. No. 9R. How to Live 100 Years. No. 23R. Get Well; Keep Well. No. 32R. Physical Training for the School and Class Room. No. 33R. Tensing Exercises. No. 51R. 285 Health Answers. No. 54R. Medicine Ball Exercises, Indigestion Treated by Gymnastics, Physical Education and Hygiene. International Polo Guide. . 50c. ANY OF THE ABOVE BOOKS MAILED POSTPAID UPON RECEIPT OF PRICE 6-30-16 JAMES I. BROKAW. Spalding's Athletic Libbary No. 13. Group XII. HOW TO PLAY AMERICAN HAND BALL A technical treatise of the modern game, fully illustrated and showing the correct court. It contains the rules, gives a careful analysis of different styles of play, describes how to construct and maintain indoor, outdoor and roof courts, etc., etc. By JAMES I. BROKAW New York PUBLISHED BY AMERICAN SPORTS PUBLISHING COMPANY 21 Warren Street, New York Copyright, 1915, by American Sports Publishing Company. ^^ DEC 18 1915 '^U). ■/ N5 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. All authorities agree that the human animal requires at least one hour of vigorous exercise in every twenty-four, or two hours a day, three days per week; and for some, one whole day in each week; but the first is the best method. The theory of all this is that physical activity expedites the ordinary process of elimina- tion of poisons from the system as well as moving any food not assimilated but remaining in the intestinal canal, enabling nature to strike a legal balance between intake and output, and restores our physical equilibrium. However doubtful the theory, the re- sults from exercise are sure. The visual proofs are found in a handsome face and figure and a splendid carriage, while the mind is cleared and the efficiency of all the mental processes im- proved to a marked degree— surely a desirable thing. It is a very old theory and a very popular one because of its extreme simplicity. What we can see and feel must be very nearly a fact; that which can be demonstrated to all will be accepted by all; where it can be shown that men, irrespective of age, can, by pursuing a given line of conduct, obtain a particularly desirable result, and the same result in all cases, we are getting very close to a certainty. It is this simple, clear cut fact that explains the increased popularity of athletics in an age marked by the greatest progress in general education. We actually "know" so very little about ourselves that we are eternally grasping any and every thing that seems to promise more knowledge of how to live healthily, and only too often are the victims of fakes and fakers. Actual, knowable, understandable facts about the human body are harder to get than money. Exercise will do all that is claimed for it if the subject is introduced to it properly. Unfortunately, many men and women suffer all their lives just because they failed to get started right, when exercise of the proper kind would' have spared them untold misery. A man is feeling mean, slow and sloppy, can't talk brightly or collect his thoughts properly the way he knows he is capable of 4 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. thinking and talking; he Is not sick a-bed, but he has lost from ten to fifty per cent, of his efficiency and does not know why. The usual course is to consult a doctor, which should be the correct course; if the doctor is at all up to date he tells the patient, "Why, my dear fellow, you are not sick; all you need is regular exercise and you will be all right in a week." The only benefit the patient will get from this kind of advice is from the effect it may produce in his mind by allaying fears of being seriously ill. By "regular exercise" the doctor no doubt meant walking or some other isolated effort that no man can or will keep up for any length of time. The doctor should have given the patient proper medicine to clear out the intestinal canal and then advised him to go and exercise with other men; not under* any circumstances alone. The medicine would have been ten times as effective and the patient would have kept up the exer- cise and, happy, would have gladly paid the doctor for his knowledge and complimented him for horse sense, too; instead they usually think the doctor is stealing their money. As to regular exercise: Can we have it? Do we want It? Is it desirable? Absolutely not. Regularity to most minds sug- gests monotony, and between monotony and intelligence there is an eternal conflict. The nearer a human animal approaches perfect regularity in his daily existence, the less intelligence he is found to possess. Those primitive peoples that want little put forth but little effort to get it and their lives are fairly regular; the want, the desire, for more comforts or pleasures was the beginning of our complicated business structure and caused the advance in civIHzatlon. It Is a common saying that the more we get the more we want. We should not apologize for that, for it is a clear indication that we are a coming people. When all our wants are satisfied, instead of being completely happy, we shall be decadent and some other stronger race will overrun us. The more diversified our life becomes, the more attractive It is and the less we can perceive of regularity in it. No intelligent animal can be regular in anything for a few weeks without loss of mental efficiency. Exercise Is a waste of SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 6 time if it will not increase efficiency. It will always do this if sufficiently diversified (irregular) ; regularity is unattractive, diversity is attractive. Men play all kinds of games from checkers to pitching quoits because the possibility is always present of working out new conditions and combinations. Once a man takes up a game, he will always return to it, unless through some peculiar physical or mental deficiency he is unable to acquire any skill at it. Start him at some isolated form of exer- cise and he will quit ninety-nine times out of a hundred and it will be doubly hard to get him to start the second time. V/alking, except for the extremely fat, is a poor exercise, because it affects one only from the hips down. Great runners and bicycle riders are wonderfully developed from the hips down, but above the hips there is little or no development and experience proves they are just as vulnerable to any serious disease as those that never took any particular exercise. No effort to speak of is required to walk, except for the extremely fat, and the fat man does not need exercise except, for artistic reasons, he may wish to reduce the amount of fat he carries, which at a certain point becomes a burden to him. Fat people always enjoy perfect digestion or they could not be fat; they have no feeling of weakness or soreness in the region of the stomach or solar plexus; they may be placed under the most exciting circumstances; you may load them down with respon- sibilities and there is no apparent change in their physical or mental health. We are forced to believe that the fat people are the result of a perfect pre-natal condition and a home environment of even-tempered people during the growing period. Nature is very kind to the fat. All others have an imperfect digestive function in some degree and millions of them don't know it. Many will end their lives without knowing it. Most of us have lost from ten to fifty per cent, of our total possible efficiency and in nearly every instance the cause is imperfect digestion; the differences are differences in degree merely. After observing many thousands, the writer is of the opinion that most men conduct their business daily with a 6 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. capacity not more than sixty per cent, of their total efficiency. It is rare, indeed, to find a man anywhere near one hundred per cent, efficient. Very many boys of twelve to sixteen years of age have only fifty per cent, of their total natural efficiency. In the race of life, practically all start from "scratch"; just beyond scratch they commence to drop out. Many causes are ascribed; but, really, people die because they don't know how to live. There is absolutely no sensible reason why people could not live indefinitely *'if" they only knew how. From infancy we grow up, continually active (exercising), but there comes a time at some moment of our lives (some in boyhood, others in full maturity) when we commence to diminish our physical efforts, in many cases from choice; in many others without choice and superinduced by vocation. At that moment we commence to die. Diminished activity produces a sluggish liver and poor blood, gradually producing hardening of the arteries. These conditions always accompany disordered diges- tive function, the first result of inactivity and improper living. Most people go their way quite a while, never thinking a change has taken place in their general health; then something happens. It may be sortie trouble, or it may be additional responsibility thrust upon them, or it might be any one of a thousand circum- stances calling for more energy, and the call is answered by a feeling of great weakness in the region of the stomach and it cannot be thrown off by any mental effort of the strongest mind. Every effort we make to do anything important, excluding the things we do automatically, seems to draw on this region of the stomach or solar plexus, and when there is no reserve there, we must quit, for we have nothing to go on with; a man is as strong as his solar plexus. Most business men enjoy what they are pleased to call "good health," but let some little added strain or some disease strike them, and they go down and out like a ton of brick; they don't know what good health is. No man who drinks whiskey regularly can be in good health, one hundred per cent, efficient; it isn't possible. Some people live to a hundred years of age, but such cases are accidents, not the result of any SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 7 method. Many people go along about their business, taking health, like the sunshine, for granted, until they commence to slip back; they cannot keep up with the rush; then they take notice, but it is often too late, for they are a long way on the road of misery and death and it is not easy to bring them back. In such a condition, they are vulnerable to attack of any of the serious maladies. A perfectly healthy person would not be stricken with pneumonia, typhoid or smallpox, because the germs of those diseases would be destroyed as soon as they entered the blood stream of a healthy body. There are many schools of medicine; there are many theories of practice, but it is mighty hard to prove any of them; at least, to the satisfaction of the layman. There is one thing, however, that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to an}'- mind and that is the results of exer- cise, and the value of those results. If we lift weights daily for a week, we can lift heavier weights at the end of the week than when we started. If we run a' mile every day for a week, we can then run a good deal more than a mile or run the mile with much less effort than when we commenced running; we are stronger and we know it. This increased strength is reflected in our every act, including think- ing and talking; the results are positive. How many other ways of gaining strength can we point to that are positive? If we, by effort, create a demand for strength, nature is always ready to supply it. If we don't use our strength, we soon lose it. Exercise to be even temporarily beneficial must be primarily from the hips up, for only such exercise will directly affect the region of the stomach or solar plexus, as the nerve centers there seem to control our every thought and action. The only attraction of whiskey is that* it creates a feeling very similar to the effects of physical exercise in those who drink it. This feeling does not last long, and there is a very unpleasant, unhealthy reaction, while exercise produces a stronger sensation, that lasts much longer, and without any reaction whatever. If exercise can be made readily available 8 SPAIJ)ING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. and attractive to the whiskey drinker, he will give up the whiskey' nine times out of ten, for In drinking it he is merely trying to get the effects of exercise by a short cut. Physical exercise for people generally must make its appeal to nature's law of competition; the mind must be interested first of all and the physiologist must follow the direction of the psychologist, and the latter must take the initiative in all matters athletic. The purely physical must be subordinated to the purely intellectual. Entirely aside from the physical and incidental mental benefits derived from the exercise, the mind must receive an independent pleasure or satisfaction from the participation in such exercise or the subject will not continue and the exercise fails of its great purpose through the mis- direction of its advocates and promoters. It is with that thought in mind that we have tried to introduce in this book the game of American hand ball, which supplies all the elements inseparable from keen competition; affords incidental physical exercise of the most diversified kind and possesses the very important feature : that it can be made available where no other game can be played and at a minimum of expense. ONE OP THE SPLENDID HAND BALL COURTS OP THE ILLINOIS ATHLETIC CLUB, CHICAGO, J. T. MAHAN, PHYSICAL DIRECTOR. FIGURE 1. PLAN OF AN AMERICAN HAND BALL COURT SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. H FIGURE 1 American Hand Ball, like many of our sports, is an evolution of another game; it has grown out of Irish (four-wall) Hand Ball, Cuban Hand Ball and Squash Tennis, and Americanized into a very fast scientific sport, especially adapted to cities where area or floor space is very expensive and consequently not available for other sports. The game retains some of the features of the three games mentioned, but by adding numerous ideas of local origin and by improving the court, the gloves, and the ball, and by shifting the lines, increasing or decreasing the size of the court, a court has been evolved that gives the defense an equal chance with the offense and still supplies plenty of action; and by developing a proper color scheme of the court and immediate vicinity, including correct lighting of indoor courts, the game has been brought to a high degree of perfection, and where players have equal mechanical ability and are equally fast, becomes a battle of wits as well as a physical contest, and this seems to be the American idea of what a sport should be. Different sized courts are a bad thing for the game and should be corrected at once. A court that is too wide gives too much advantage to the offensive or serving side; while a court that is too narrow gives an unfair advantage to the defense. A court that is too long merely serves to slow down the game, taking much of the action out of it, which is one of the chief attractions. The correct court should keep the player in action all of the time, in both doubles and singles, and at the same time give each side an equal chance to score a point or a putout. The service line should be placed so no player, through some peculiar natural ability resident in him, could acquire a serve which would (without skill in any other department of the game) enable him to win. The correct court, as shown in 12 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. Figure 1, makes this impossible, for every serve or other shot can be returned if the player is judging his opponent correctly, and wherever this court is used interest in the game and the quality of the play has improved immensely. Any man or boy can become sufficiently good at American hand ball in a short time to get a lot of fun out of it; but to be a star player requires one to start to play when young and keep at it. Plenty of energy; be able to think quickly; get speed on the ball and con- trol with either hand, for it is a two-handed game; fast on one's feet — these are the requirements of the game. No player can become good if he can score with one hand only. The left or less dexterous hand will readily respond to practice and become ninety per cent, as effective as the right. To be able to put great speed on the ball with either hand is a powerful asset; in singles seventy-fi.ve per cent, and in doubles ninety per cent, of the shots and returns must be fast or lose much of their effectiyeness. Speed, however, is not all. If the player with speed Is wild and cannot control the ball (a common fault), the one with fine control, though with little speed, will win out nine times out of ten. Those players that are able to get great speed on the ball are prone to use it upon all possible occasions, because there is a fascination in seeing the ball travel swiftly, also in knowing your opponent is going to have trouble in getting it back to the board. To be able to put speed on the ball is usually natural, whereas skill in placing must be acquired. A player who from the start finds he can put unusual speed on the ball should cut down the speed and confine his practice to placing the ball, for he won't lose his speed, and after he has secured control his speed will be a fine thing to add to his game. After the speed and the mechanical skill in placing come the intellectual side of the game, which is the most interesting. The theory is to put the ball where your opponent isn't; put it where he is, but is unable to handle it; bluffing him into the belief you are going to put it in a particular place and then make a different play; anticipating a play, by taking a position SPALPING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 13 where you believe your opponent is going to place it, thereby being ready to make your own play to better advantage. When a player is able to judge his opponent's play a slight fraction of a second in advance of the actual play, he will, other things being equal, win every time. All classes of players of all degrees of skill should make as few preliminary motions as possible before meeting the ball, for it is these initial motions that give the alert mind the direction the ball is going to take. One should try to make as many shots and serves as possible with one set of preliminary motions, thus keeping one's opponent guessing as long as possible and delaying his start to cover the point threatened. In serving the ball, the writer uses fourteen different serves regularly, half of which he can deliver with one set of motions, and there are others which he is unable to use. It is always a strong factor to hurry one's opponent; don't give him time to steady himself ; keep rushing him in his returns ; compel him to make errors. If you cannot place the ball yourself to score, don't give him the time to do so; make him travel after every ball and keep him traveling until you work him into a tight place where you can make a scoring shot. It is this rush- ing — hurrying by both sides — that cause the "rallies," those very exciting periods when the ball is constantly returned without either side being able to create a situation that would permit them to score. The time necessary to get into position and steady oneself to place the ball varies much with different players, but all require some time, and, in the absence of errors, the more this element of time is limited by both sides, the closer and faster the game will be and the more exciting. ■^ a a H"H .5 § =« ° 0, "S > a 6* § s * O t< 4) "H -t-i 2 «* o-t; Sj"*^ OJ g S 01 '^c H * rt * n "^ ~ *'!:! 5 £. « oj ® £ a es +j a« 88 o S «y oi o ^ Si O.S c a .rt o fc, a S « o > O '^^iCfteP m o -^^ 'E c fl 5 a Pi .C -K +^ 3 fe 'I' 9 S a *3 ■*^ 9 0) §:•- o ° •■^5 2 -S ^ 00 s:+j.s o " 3 t-..rt Bj.a o es •^oaj3--- VI * 9 P ^ fli _, 0) 0) (1) 4) "^^ ""^ a SPAIiDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 15 THE OFFENSIVE The "offensive" side of American Hand Ball is nominally with that side holding the serve, because only the server's side can score points and because the serving side should take greater chances to score, for failure only means losing the serve to the defensive side and that side should go right in and take the same chances, and if they don't they will never get anywhere in this game, for winning by default (your opponent's errors) is not very brilliant sportsmanship. Most players are better defensively than offensively, because it is much easier to merely return the ball without special direc- tion than it is to try to place every return with intent to score, or at least embarrass your opponent, which the offensive side must do. To place the ball at all requires one to get into at least a fair position to meet the oncoming ball, for being out of position, or not having sufficient time to get into any position, means an advantage to the other side. As the serve is the commencement of hostilities, we will con- sider that first, as it is very important. An effective serve is one that prevents the defensive player from putting out the server or seriously embarrassing him on the first return. A good assortment of serves is better than one, no matter how effective the one may be, for with ten or more different and well- controlled serves there is always variety of style and something in reserve; but with one, even extraordinary, serve, the owner of it is lost just as soon as some one finds a good defense for it. The serve should always be made from a point as close to the board as the rules allow, which is the service line, because this shortens the time that the ball is in transit to the server's oppo- nent and to that extent limits his ability to place it. The right-handed player should stand on the left side of the SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 17 court, with the left foot on the side line, the right foot about eighteen inches away from the line; from this position he should be able to make all his serves ; also, he can note the position of his opponents, observe whether they are on their toes or are careless, flat-footed, leaning in the wrong direction, or showing signs of fatigue, all of which should govern his action, and he can do this for the longest possible time from this correct posi- tion of serving the ball. The server should drop the ball to the floor so that it will bounce just as high as he wants it to, or he may throw it to the floor, making it bounce high and serve it when it has fallen to the point that suits his purpose. As soon as the ball has left the server's hand he must give his attention to his opponent, to see if the serve was a success; if opponent is unable to return it effectively and, if so, see from the preliminary motions of oppo- nent where the ball is going, and this, if possible, before the ball has actually left opponent's hand and then get into position to make an effective shot. If, however, the first return is so good that it will not permit the serving side to try a scoring shot, the offensive side must make a defensive shot that will pre- vent the defensive side from making a shot, and these general tactics must be continued until one side is able to bring about a condition that makes scoring possible. With a good serve, it is nearly impossible to put out the server with the first return. It is, however, possible for the server to score on the first return several times during a game, but the real generalship of the game commences after the first return. The constant starting, stopping and changing of direction in one's course, the "rapid fire" action of a very fast ball com- ing at one from all sorts of angles, leaving so little time in which to think, and the knowledge always in mind that the slightest mistake in attitude or the merest imperfection in a glove may deflect that little ball anywhere but where you want it to go, creates a situation very wearing on the best trained and strongest of men. Only under such conditions, however, can the skill of the game be brought out to the highest degree. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 19 There are several serves that may be used in singles that can- not be used in doubles, because of there being two defensive men. A server in doubles should only use those serves of which he has the finest control, for at best he can only slightly incon- venience his opponents, and his only aim should be to avoid getting into a hole on the first return, after which scoring must be planned. One principle of play is for the offensive side to place their returns so as to draw both opponents to one side of the court, thereby making an opening to score on the side of the court uncovered; by driving one opponent out of either side of the court with angle returns, thus exposing the center to a pos- sible scoring shot, which may be a short or a long fast or slow drive, according to the whereabouts of the other opponent; by making high and long drives, which take the opponents far from the board, and awaiting a favorable opportunity to make a long low shot with intent to score, which shot should be followed up, but the start to follow up should not be made until the particular opponent going after the ball has started. Allow him to keep slightly in advance of you, so he will not know you are there, and be prepared, if he should get the ball, to make a hard drive right at him, for having traveled very fast, with his whole weight leaning heavily toward the board, he is in a weak position to handle a fast ball, with no time to get into position. But if by good fortune he does handle the hard drive, the next drive should be at his partner, who by this time is becoming concerned about his team mate and is probably edging over to help him out, leaving part of his own territory uncovered. It is only a chance, but the offensive side must take chances, and this is a good chancCi if not used too often. The unexpected is difficult to guard against. Where a return is slow or comes off the board in a manner to give the one receiving it plenty of time to get into position, a bluff position should be taken up at first, which will cause the opposition to alter their positions, and, after waiting as long as possible, change your play to conform to the new attitude of your opponents and your play, if well executed, should be more effective. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 21 Where the ball takes an unexpected high bound — perhaps the result of a glancing blow falls slowly — deliberately take up a position to make a certain play, knowing both opponents are watching you, and after the ball has fallen to the point that suits your purpose, make an entirely different play from that by your preliminary motions you led your opponent to believe you were going to make. If one of your opponents should be weak on certain kinds of balls (every one is weak in -some manner or degree), it is desir- able for both players to concentrate their returns on him for a time, and if he stands up under this pounding — very few can — sooner or later his partner is certain to come to his assistance, when your opportunity is open to score ; but it must be watched for all the time, for such opportunities don't remain open for more than a fraction of a second. The most important single feature in doubles is to know where your opponents are — that is, their exact position in the court — before making your play, for every play is governed by this consideration. If you find yourself in front of your oppo- nent, make a hard drive in front of yourself or your partner, so as to bring your ogponent ipto view; or, make a high, long, slow drive, and while the ball is in the air you can turn and see your opponent arjyd get his purpose. Under no circumstance look back after a ball that is being played, for if struck in the eye, it would ruin the sight. Another feature in doubles is to draw in towards the center of the court occasionally, leaving about three or four feet between yourself and a side line, making an opening for your opponent to attempt to score and, while appearing indifferent, always watching this uncovered spot. • If your opponent eagerly seizes this chance (they usually db), you are prepared to surprise him, get his shot and make yours in the same place, which is very disconcerting; also, he, in his zeal to take advantage of your apparent carelessness, may put the ball out of the court, for, as will be seen, this shot must be very close to the line to be even moderately effective, and its value is chiefly in tempting your SPAJLDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 25 opponent to make errors, and they certainly do make them try- ing for this play. To drive a ball to the board and have it come back eighteen or twenty feet and land within an inch or two of the side line requires a degree of control absolutely unknown in any other game. The successful shots of this kind average about three of every seven tried by good players ; it is, therefore, a failure as a scoring proposition,, but that does not prevent most players from trying to make it every time they have a chance. In doubles the four men are moving all the time. Those men not actually making a play should be moving about in accordance with a well-defined plan, governed by the position of the ball, but ever prepared to make an effective play should the ball come to them, which it certainly will, for there is no time for loafing in this game. One set of scoring shots depend entirely upon accuracy for their success ; another set of scoring shots are dependent upon speed. The first contemplates that the player shall guess cor- rectly where his opponent is going to place his shot, be ready set to receive it, be deliberate in making the swing, use only a moderate degree of speed, and the result should be that the ball will strike the floor within an area not more than six inches in diameter. This class of shots should not be attempted until one has maneuvered one's opponent as far away from the spot where the shot is to be made as possible. The other set of scoring shots that depend upon speed only may be made more frequently, but their effectiveness is dependent upon two conditions : the defensive player must be sufficiently close to the board and the ball must be made to strike the floor on an iojaginary line parallel with the defensive player's position at the time and just beyond his reach, say two feet on either side of him. If the ball is fast enough, he won't have time to move his body into position, and all he can do is make a desperate grab at it, with the result that the ball flies off the ends of his fi,ngers for an error. In doubles there is rarely a wide opening to score if the players are good. The correct tactics of both teams is to keep their respective ter- SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 27 ritory so well covered that a scoring shot cannot be made, and if the teams are both strong and both fast the result will depend upon which team possesses the greatest ability in maneuvering their opponents into positions where scoring becomes possible. Figure 2 and Figure 3 show some of the best serves. No. 1 and No. 2 should not be used in doubles. Nos. 3, 4 and 5 may be used in either doubles or singles. No. 1 and No. 2 must have all the speed possible. No. 1 is. served so close to the floor that there is just space for the hand to pass without touching the floor. No. 2 is served from the same position but about two inches higher on the board, which makes it appear to one's oppo- nent when it starts just like No. 1. No. 2 lands very close to the front line, while No. 1 lands just over the service line. Neither one is very effective, but when mixed up they are valu- able not alone for their similarity in appearance, but because the second bounce occurs very quickly! Where the defensive player is inclined to stand close to the front line of the court it is well to serve No. 2, and when he moves back use No. 1. No. 3 is a long, low serve to the right corner, must be delivered with great speed, and land within a circle not more than two feet in diameter. It is very difficult to get this serve back with any degree of accuracy. No. 4 is served with the same* swing and other motions, but lands just over the service line. It is effective in singles, but should be used only occasionally in doubles. No. 5 is a serve that is started slow, strikes the board high and should land where No. 3 lands, bounce very high and result in driving the defensive player back about ten feet to get into a position to return it, for it can only be returned accurately when the ball begins to fall, that is, after the ball has attained its greatest altitude. The good feature about this serve is that it takes the defensive player a long distance from the board. The bad feature is that it is difficult to know where the return will land, for the defensive player himself does not always know. The return should always be slow and high, which will give the player time to get back in position to defend his territory. It should be used only occasionally. No. 6, a serve to be deliv- shows course of served ball. -> shows course of return. >• shows where the return strikes floor of court. DIAGRAM NO. 1. ?>?i^oif ^?^ ^^?^^ ^^*^ ^''"^''* ^^^* returns of serves. No. 1 and No. 5 where «ie ball strikes the board and where It strikes the floor. The return of servl No. 1 IS good m singles and there are two very good alternatives One fsl return to the right, very low on the board, so that after thrSsf bounce thi ball IS out of the court; the other is a hard long drive along the left side line to be used when the server starts too quick to cover an imagined plal somewhere else. The first return of serve No. 5 is the best thf t can be made m doubles but should be closer to the right line in sinjles Onl wTir.^ '' *?.''"i'^ *^^ ^^" ^^^^ «° t^« left of the server, strike the boa?d Sriir,^ from the floor, and strike the floor close to the left side line TMs should be usea only occasionally in doubles, but is always safe in s ngies. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 29 ered with all the speed possible, and, in doubles, should be directed at the server's partner and land as close as possible to the front line, and when so served it is nearly impossible to do anything more than return it. If the left defensive player takes it he must go behind the server's partner and if the right defen- sive player takes it, it must be with his left hand, and very often they both go after it, and an error usually results. No. 7 is the same as No. 5, but delivered on the left side of court. It has the same result as No. 5 and should be returned the same. No. 8 is the same as No. 5, but should land the same as No. 6. No. 9 is a serve delivered with great speed, very low on the board and to land just over the service line, directly towards the server's partner. It is only good when unexpected and frequently causes both defensive players to go after it. No. 10 is a serve made to imitate any of the others, but with the speed reduced to the minimum. The motions of the server should be exactly the same as, for example, in No. 3, and just before meeting the ball he should pull in the speed of his hand; the intention is to confuse the defensive players. A good feature where a player has fine control is make a serve like No. 2 or ■■ No. 3, with extraordinary speed and very wild and "long" ; this . gives the impression to the defensive players that you are wild, and then, with equal speed, drop the next one, as in No. 2 or No. 3. The defensive player will wait to the last fraction of a second before playing it, believing it is going outside the court, and frequently does not play it at all. In singles any serve is good if unexpected, but in doubles they must be mixed up all the time. THE DEFENSIVE The defensive side of the game is with the "outs", the side that cannot score but must prevent the serving side from scoring. Defensive players should not take the long chances the serving side must take, because a mistake or error is a score against them; whereas, a mistake or error for the serving side, while indicates serve. -^ indicates first returns. DIAGRAM NO. 2. This diagram shows returns of serves No. 3 and No. 4. The first return of serve No. 3 should be slow, high on the board, and land close to the front line. It IS good in either doubles or singles and has many possibilities of breaking up the plans of the offensive side. One alternative is to plav the right corner low, j.f the server's partner is too far from the board to set if ^ .^^i ^^ dangerous without fine control. The first return of serve No 4 should be very hard, about five feet up on the board, and land close to the"-^ front line. The server may attempt to play this drive, and if he does he^ must play it on the fly and from the center of the court, leaving all the ■ Ifou^l^'^'^'v^^ !f". uncovered; the left defensive player should immediately- SF+,! • ^f ^^^^,?* No. 4 serve m singles should be made to the right,"-" along the right side line, and if sufficiently hard will score a pu tout, but in any case it will take the server at least eight feet outside the court to get It, or thirty- four feet from the board, and if the defensive player guesses right l^ ^% 1° }^^ correct position, he should score a putout on this return. A powerful alternative is a hard drive of the same elevation, but to strike the floor at about the serving position. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 31 they lose the serve, they do not lose any points. The general principle of defensive play consists in very carefully making all returns ; making at least thirty-five per cent, of them high on the board, slow and long, so placed as to give the offensive play- ers as much. trouble as possible to get into position to try for a scoring shot. These tactics should continue until a reasonably sure opportunity to make the putout has been brought about, which will only come from patience and perseverance. Defensive players should not be tempted into putting great speed on the ball (leave that for the offensive side), but exer- cise the greatest care in avoiding errors and get the ball back to the board, for returning it right where the offensive player wants it is immeasurably better than not getting it back at all. However, speed should always be used when the player is in position to deliver it, but it should not be attempted from an awkward position by a defensive player. In doubles, the player receiving the serve should make his first return very fast^ about five feet up on the board, just out af reach of the server's right hand, for the following two reasons : First, it will tempt the server to try and play it, and if he does the defensive player on that side of court moves into the position the server has just vacated, and if the server makes his return on this side — that is, on his left — the defensive player already there and waiting should make a fast play with either hand along the left side line. Second, if the server refuses to be tempted on the first return, as just referred to, his partner must move over to the left side of the center of the court to play it, which exposes all of the right side of the court of the offensive side to several possible scoring shots that may be made by the defensive side^ just which one to use being governed by the kind of return the offensive player makes. If it comes back high, either defensive player should play it from a fly and so it will strike the floor close to the other offensive player, and with a defensive player on either side of him, he is in a hole, and the defensive players should continue to drive the ball to him, keeping it all the time close enough to prevent his partner from playing it and with sufficient speed to DIAGRAM NO. 3. This diagram shows first return from E of serve No. 2— a hard drive with the left hand — which draws the server a long distance from the board. There are tyvo good alternatives: After the ball is served, the server should cross the side line into the court to protect himself, permitting a hard drive along the left side line; another alternative on this serve is a low drive with more accuracy than speed, low on the board in the right corner, but should not be used in doubles. F shows first return of No. 9 serve, in doubles only; a good alternative is directly in front of the player making the return and Should bring the second bound at the player's feet^ SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 33 prevent him from playing the ball over his head and thereby- getting out of the hole. .^ If the server has a poor left hand, the first return may be rather low on his left and the same plan as previously noted employed. Where the offensive side makes a low corner shot to score, the defensive should always return it high and as near the center as possible, but in singles it may be returned low to either corner or high and long. If a server accidentally makes a poor serve, he is in a weak position and he knows it and it disconcerts him, and for that reason the defense should play him from the first return. If the server gets caught in close to the board, it is the duty of his partner to protect his rear in case the defense should play a fast ball through him, and for that reason, if the server, after a rally of three or fo'jr returns by each side, is able to keep his end up, either defensive player might find it to be good judgment to play the server's partner, especially if they know where the server's partner is at the moment. It is very desirable for the player of either side, who is not actually making a return, to lose himself to at least one of his opponents, because it will modify their style of play, for a player that knows the exact location of both opponents will make his play with confidence and judgment. On the other hand, it is some times important to show oneself to the opposition after being lost, in order to influence them to make a particular play, always being ready to get into position to receive that play and to counter to the best advantage. It is very Important In this game, as In all games, to be quick In learning the little weaknesses of one's opponent, In order to take full advantage of them. It Is equally important to quickly learn the strong features of one's opponent and give him as few opportunities to use them as possible. There is a correct return for every ball, which must be decided by the player before the ball has left the board and, when possible, before It has left the hand of one's opponent. Where a choice can be made between playing a ball short or long off the board, preference should be DIAGRAM NO. 4. This diagram shows returns of throe serves. The first return of serve No. 6, at G, is rather slovr, high on the board, lands close to front line and should create openings for scoring, but it must be executed with great care. The first return of serve No. 8, at H, is similar to 6 and has the same motive. These long shots require just as much care in get- ting into position to receive. Return of serve No. 7, at 1, is fairly fast, about six feet up on the board, should land close to the junction of the right side line and the service line and mark the beginning of angle shot play, which af- fords greater opportunities for the em- ployment of strategy as well as large scoring possibilities. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 35 given to the long drive, because the ball while traveling on a fly goes much faster than after it has struck the floor for the bounce. This makes possible many scoring shots just beyond the reach pf one's opponent, which, if the bounce occurred any- where in front of him, he would have time to get. There are many scoring shots that must have a bounce to them. They should always be used with due regard to the speed of one's opponent in traveling to the spot open and uncovered. Some men are so fast that it is necessary to maneuver them ten to twelve feet away from the point that a scoring shot with a bounce is to be made, and even then the bounce must be exceed- ingly short or they will get it. Those just beginning to learn the game should play all balls on the bounce, continue this method until they are able to judge both the speed and direction of the ball correctly, and make their returns fairly high on the board; next, they should learn to judge the ball coming ofl^ the board and before the bounce; then they should try getting the direction of the ball between opponent's hand and the board, and the final stage is to learn how to fathom the intention of one's opponent before he has made his play. All those that wish to play the game for exercise and mental diversion may become sufficiently skillful in playing two or three times a week ; but those who wish to become star players should play at least one hour every day and take other corre- lated exercises tending to improve their wind, strengthen their abdominal muscles, loosen up their legs and arms and give them steadiness. The only safe method of playing the ball is with the full arm movement from the shoulder, because only with this style can fine control ever be attained. Never use the movement ordinarily used in throwing a base ball, for at best it is erratic and the ball must be struck by the fingers instead of the palm; the palm, being much thicker and heavier and for this purpose constituting one member instead of five, is easier to control, making accuracy possible on a much greater variety of shots; whereas, with the throwing motion, the player must receive the ball within certain A Short Rally in Singles shows where the return strikes floor of court. I shows course of the server I — 5 shows course of Deff^ndvA^ 1 defensive player. p| 'J;® S^^BS S^SS shows the scoring -shot. ^*o.yeT DIAGRAM NO. This diagram shows a short rally in a game of singles where the server scores. In this rally the server or offensive player has traveled sixty feet and the defensive player seventy feet, yet the offensive player scores. The serve is No. 3 as shown in diagram A, at 1; the defensive player moves to 2 and returns the ball, long on the right, and the offensive moves, first to A and then to B, and returns the ball to the left; the defensive player moves to 3, a covering position, then moves to 4, and returns the ball after a great sprint; the offensive player moves from B to C, a covering position, then to D, and by a hard left hand drive to the right scores a point; the defensive player, after making a good get at 4, hustles back in the court at 5, a proper covering position, where he now sees the play the offensive player is making, makes a desperate effort to reach the new position, but at 6 sees the ball pass him just beyond his reach. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 37 circumscribed limits in order to use it at all and, if tied to this style, is helpless before any player that can prevent him from receiving the ball within those limits. For the same reason, the circular swing of the arm ending at the hip, so much used in Irish hand ball, should be discarded. With the full arm. move- ment, while the arm is not always straight, it must be rigid, and speed and accuracy are obtained in any position from two inches to six feet from the floor. The gloves form an important adjunct to American hand ball. The ideal glove is one that is entirely free from wrinkles or other imperfections on the face of the palm and fingers. The slightest defect in the palm is a prolific cause of errors, for all those shots that depend upon accuracy alone for success must be delivered from the exact center of the palm. To get the greatest possible degree of speed, the fingers should be turned in to a point at right angles to the arm and the ball be met slightly off the center of the palm and on the heel of the hand where the bones are the heaviest. The bare hand is impossible for two reasons: first, because the flesh is too soft and uneven; second, without gloves the ball gets wet from perspiration and performs so many freak curves that the game degenerates into a contest where skill is at a discount and luck is everything. Spalding's American Standard Hand Ball Glove meets all the requirements of this game, and, while a little stiff when new, it soon works into the correct shape and, being strong and free from wrinkles and other common faults, protects the ball from sweat. It is the only glove that fulfils all these requirements and it will wear much longer than any other glove. The clothing should be the least that the police will allow, as it is a hard game and too much clothing is a handicap. The pants should go slightly below the knees to prevent them from being skinned in falls. On concrete floors the knees should be padded. A shirt is worn merely for aesthetic reasons and should be nearly nothing, but a heavy sweater, or robe, should be very handy when a game is finished. Stockings should be short for indoor work and extend above the knee for outdoor work and 38 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRAKY. sufficiently thick to prevent blistering the feet. A strong flexible jock strap should be worn. The shoes are very important; for indoor work on a wooden floor the}^ should be low oxford, canvas upper, with a rubber sole of good grade, which may not be more than a quarter of an inch thick, built onto the upper (not sewed on), and from the center of the sole at the ball of the foot, and extending to the inner edge of the sole there should be embedded in the regular sole a piece of almost pure gum about two inches square to insure a good grip, and, as that is where the bulk of the wear comes, it will materially extend the life of the shoe. For concrete floors, the upper may be either canvas or leather, but slightly higher to protect the ankle; the soles made of automobile tire fabric, sewed on to a leather insole and about three-eighths of an inch thick; nothing but this cotton and rubber combination will last more than a very few games on concrete. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 39 Rule 1. The players must stand outside the court, in the field, until the ball is put in play by the server. Rule 2. The ball is in play when the server drops or throws it to the floor anywhere within the court on that side of the service line farthest from the board (or wall). Rule 3. The ball must touch the floor before the server can play it to the board and the play must be made on the first bound. Rule 4. A served ball, after leaving the board, must, with- out touching the floor, cross to that side of the service line farthest from the board and land within the court. Rule 5. A served ball must not be played on a fly, but on the first bounce only. Rule 6. If a served ball leaving the board first touches the floor before crossing the service line it is "short" and the same server serves again. Rule 7. If a served ball leaving the board first touches the floor on that side of the front line farthest from the board, it is "long." Rule 8. If one "long" and one '"short" or two "long" or two "short" balls served consecutively by the same server fail to touch the floor first within the court, between the service line and the front line, the server is out, and in doubles the side is out. Rule 9. If a served ball touch the floor outside the side lines of court, the server is out, and in doubles the side is out. Rule 10, All served balls and all returned balls must touch the board first before touching the floor. Rule 11. A ball leaving the board strikes an opposition player, it is against the side so struck and is either a point or a putout for the other side. Rule 12. A ball leaving the board strikes the player who returned it or, in doubles, that player's partner, it is against the side so struck, and is either a point or putout for the opposition. 40 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. Rule 13. A ball, after leaving the hand of the player and while on its course toward the board, strikes an opposition player before touching the floor, it is a "hinder," and two "hinders" on one service constitute a point or a putout against the side making the "hinders." Rule 14. In doubles, a player, making an attempt to play a ball, completely misses it, his partner may play it. Rule 15. A ball that is short or long or outside the side lines is nevertheless played, the play may continue to the end of the rally and appeal then be taken to the referee, who must decide whether the ball was good or not. Rule 16. All balls must be played from the first bounce or fly, except the serve, which must be played from first bounce only. Rule 17. After the serve, any returned ball that first touches the floor or board outside the actual dimensions of the court, it is a point or a putout against the side making the return. Rule 18. The player must strike the ball with the front of either hand and no other part of his anatomy. Rule 19. A player may place a ball with relation to himself so as to block or prevent his opponent from having free access to the ball, but the blocking movement must be complete at the time of returning the ball and not after the ball has left his hand. Rule 20. In doubles, a player may place a ball so that his partner may block either opponent, as in Rule 19. Rule 21. In doubles, a player must not take up a position to block an opponent after the ball has left the board. Rule 22. A player running away from the board In pursuit of the ball has the right of way and is not subject to any form of blocking after he has passed the service line. Rule 23. A player already In position, or while taking a position to return the ball, must not be blocked, unless the blocking movement was made before the. ball left the board. Rule 24. In doubles, the server's partner may stand at each serve, between their two opponents, but he must move away from any served ball so at least one of their opponents shall have free access to the ball. SPAIiDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRAEY. 41 Rule 25. A player may return the ball and block his oppo- nent by a single act, but the blocking part of the act must end when the ball leaves the hand. Rule 26. In doubles, each side shall alternate in the service as well as in the defensive positions, and no player shall play the same defensive position or do the serving all the time. Rule 27. When the ball is coming off the board, a player must not pass between the oncoming ball and his opponent, but may pass under the ball or around his opponent. Rule 28. Twenty-one points constitutes a full game. Rule 29. Should each side score twenty points, either must score two consecutive points on one service to win. Rule 30. Before starting a game, the players may agree among themselves as to the defensive positions they will play; after the first game they must alternate in each game. Rule 31. The players shall toss a coin to determine which side shall serve the first ball, after which they will play for the service, the first point or putout winning said service, when the regular game shall start. Rule 32. The officials of the game shall be a referee and an umpire. Rule 33. The referee shall have charge of the game, direct the players, make the decisions, Impose all penalties and enforce the rules. Rule 34. The referee may move about to any position in the field, but not In the court while the ball is in play. Rule 35. After the start of game, neither side shall delay the game more than one minute without the consent of the referee. Rule 36. The referee may order the game resumed at any time after one minute, time to be computed from the last score or putout. Rule 37. For unfair blocking or any kind of intentional inter- ference the referee may Impose a fine against the offending side of from one to five points by subtracting such points from the score, thus requiring the offender to earn the fine plus twenty- one points to win. Rule 3S. Ha player be injured while playing, he may ask 42 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. for time to recover, and the referee may grant one or more minutes, in his discretion, but not more than five minutes without the consent of the other side. Rule 39. For refusing to abide by a decision of the referee, he may fine the offending side one point for every minute the game is delayed, up to five minutes, when he shall forfeit the game to the innocent side, and the score shall stand 21 to in favor of the innocent side. Rule 40. In all important or championship games, the winner must be victorious in at least three of five games. Rule 41. The time between games shall be not more than ten minutes, at the end of which time the referee shall direct the players to start the next game. Rule 42. For fighting or roughing, the referee may fine the offending side from one to five points, as in Rule 37, or forfeit the game to the innocent side. Rule 43. If a player be guilty of an unfair act which does not affect the play, the referee may warn him, but upon repeat- ing the same unfair act, whether intentional or not, he may fine him, even if the play was not affected. Rule 44. The umpire shall watch the players for any kind of unfair play; watch the balls that land on or near the side lines; keep the score of game; and call the attention of the referee to any irregularities of play. Rule 45. On any point involving the interpretation of the rules, appeal from the referee's decision may be made to the umpire, whose decision shall be fi.nal. Rule 46. The referee may stop play any time and confer with the umpire on any point before rendering his decision if he believes the umpire has better knowledge of the play. Rule 47. During the progress of the game, if a legal ball should strike either the referee or the umpire the ball is "dead," with no advantage to either side. Rule 48. Points can only be scored by the side serving; put- outs by the defensive or side not serving. Rule 49. Any ball after leaving the board first touches the SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 43 floor on any line of the court is deemed good, but where such balls are very doubtful, the referee may direct the ball be served over again, without advantage to either side; provided, however, that if both the referee and the umpire decide any ball good, it shall not be played over. Rule 50. Gloves must be worn, and they must be made so as to effectually prevent the sweat of the hands from getting on the ball. Rule 51. During the progress of the game, if a ball become wet from any cause the referee may stop the play, see that the ball is properly dried, then direct play be resumed with the serve without advantage to either side. Rule 52. The ball must be not less than one inch and seven- eighths of an inch and not more than two inches in diameter, when inflated with air pressure to thirty pounds per square inch, made of gum and carbon and to weigh not more than two and one-quarter ounces and not less than two ounces. Rule 53-. The court shall consist of a floor, a board and a field. The board shall be 10 feet high and 20 feet wide, made of at least two layers of finished boards, both tongued and grooved, backed by studding not less than 2 inches by 4 inches, twelve inches apart, and secured to a wall or in the ground in a manner to completely prevent vibration. The surface of board must be smooth and painted with at least two coats of white paint, but no lines. The space immediately adjoining the board shall be of such material as to produce a distinctly different sound when struck by the ball than the board gives. Rule 54. The floor shall be 20 feet wide and 26 feet long; , the service line shall be drawn across the floor at a point exactly in the middle between the front line and the board, and the lines of the floor shall be red, 2 Inches wide, and the floor must be smooth but not polished. Rule 55. The field shall be the territory immediately adjoin- ing the "floor" on all sides except the board side and shall be 55 feet wide, including floor of court, and 40 feet long, including floor of court, and shall not be polished or slippery. 46 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. Get — A return of a shot that should have scored for the player \/ho made it; a difficult return without any regard to placing. Hinder — A returning ball that strikes an opposition player. Rally — A rapid returning of the ball by both sides, without advantage to either, for a period of one or more minutes. Killed ball — Generally a scoring shot so low that the resultant bounce is barely perceptible. Ace — A point scored by a shot that the opposition failed even to touch, legally. Error — Any ball that the player can and does touch legally, but fails to return to the board legally. Classification of errors of judgment we leave to the imagination. Fluke — Any extraordinary shot that was palpably not intended by the player who made it. Safety — A shot made from a weak position that prevents what looked like a sure score for the opposition. Cutting the line — All shots that are intentionally played close to or upon the front line. Shading the line — Any shot that follows close to or upon either side line. Wild — A player is "wild" when his shots fail to strike the board within five feet of where he obviously intended; if not within ten feet, he should consult an alienist. Steady — A player is "steady" when he is able to place seventy- five per cent, of his shots within two feet of his mark. li within two inches, the opposition should learn what meat^he feeds on. Serve — One ball served from serving position. Service — A number of consecutive serves by the same player. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 47 American hand ball courts out of doors should be constructed as follows : Chestnut posts six inches square, sixteen feet longj placed five feet apart — that is, four posts — and six feet in the ground or in concrete; across the posts, one foot apart, strips of white pine one inch thick and three inches wide should be nailed horizontally; on the strips boards of white pine one inch thick, not over six inches wide, tongued and grooved, finished both sides, should be nailed vertically; here, put on one coat of good filler paint, both sides. Where it is intended to build a series of courts this construction should continue without a break, to provide the desired number of courts together with the field of each. To complete the playing board, boards two inches wide, one inch thick, finished both sides, tongued and grooved, should be nailed horizontally to the vertical boards the exact width and height of the board, or twelve feet wide by ten feet high, mak- ing lines on the board unnecessary, thereby removing a fruitful cause of disputes and arguments, for in playing the whole board, if the ball misses the board, it strikes a different structure, makes a different sound and that ends it. The board should then be painted with one coat of filler and two coats of white paint and when dirty should be washed, but no more paint added until the original paint is washed too thin to give a uniform color. The rear of the board and continuing structure should be properly and securely braced so that even any vibration is impos- sible. There must be no "give" to the board on the impact of the ball or the ball will lose speed. The top of the structure, including the board, should have studding two inches thick, four inches wide and ten feet long, extending outward and upward over the court and field, covered with wire netting, one and a half inch mesh, to keep the ball in sight. The face of the structure not occupied by the board or boards should be painted the same as the board, but the color should be light green, and 48 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. the rear of the entire structure should be painted as often as necessary. The floor of the court may be made of concrete, finished smooth but not glazed. The concrete need not necessarily extend over the whole playing field; if it extends beyond the court five ieet all around it will be satisfactory, provided the rest of the playing field is made of sand and clay and kept well rolled, and it should also drain away from the court on the three sides. Of course, the very best floor is built like the board, with the beams laid in concrete, but the wood floor costs more in upkeep than concrete, for the latter costs practically nothing if built right in the first place. At the back and sides of playing field, a fence fifteen feet high and covered with wire netting should be built to save time look- ing for lost balls. A dirt floor for a court is impossible with any combination of materials, because it kills the speed of the ball. A fine place for outdoor courts is on top of buildings, especially high ones, where the air is pure and the sunshine per- fect; played under such circumstances the benefit is equal to a trip to the country. There is no other game that can be played on top of buildings, because all other games require too much floor area, while American hand ball can be played very satis- factorily on a space forty feet square. Roof courts should be well guarded on the sides, to make it impossible under any con- ceivable circumstance that a player could go over the coping, and the court should be entirely covered with wire netting, allowing a headroom of not less than fifteen feet. As roofs are usually constructed now, the roof proper would answer very well for the court by simply painting the lines of the court thereon, but the board should be properly built and on most buildings can be secured to some existing wall or coping, making it a very inexpensive proposition. It should be possible for a busi- ness man to leave his desk, go to the roof of his building, play two or three games of American hand ball, take a shower bath also in the building, and be back at his desk in one hour, greatly improved in mind and body. SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 49 Indoor courts can be built in several ways and very inexpen- sively. Once built their maintenance cost is very slight. In gymnasiums, the regulation board, twenty by ten feet, with two layers of boards, can be constructed and secured to any existing wall of the building, painted white and without lines, with the adjoining walls of building also white, so as to obtain all the light possible. The floor of the court can be the regular floor of the gymnasium, with the court lines painted red; this allows for the use of the floor space for other than hand ball purposes when desired. The floor should be gone over about every three months with a thin coat of a mixture of varnish and oil to take the glazed surface off and enable the players to get a hold on the floor with their shoes. A slippery floor spoils the game. The floor should always be perfectly even, if necessary planed and then oiled, but a slight "give" to the floor is not a detriment, for it is easier on the feet and legs of the players and does not affect the ball unfavorably. About forty feet from the board it is well to stretch a cotton net not over four feet high across the width of the playing field to stop the ball and prevent unnecessary interruptions to the game. Lighting for indoor courts, to permit playing at night, may be by either incandescent or arc lights. If incandescent, the lights should be placed about two feet from the board on both sides of the board against the wall on a vertical line, in a series of ten bulbs, laid in a metal reflector and covered with stout wire netting. Above the court, two series of the same kind, but with the bulbs eighteen inches apart, one end of each series to be about four feet from the board on the side line and to extend away from the board to a point where the other end of each series shall be not more than five feet from the side line. Metal reflectors and heavy wire netting as before. If arc lights are to be used there should be four placed approximately at the corners of the court, but the two nearest the board should be fiv^e feet from the wall and two feet frojn the side line. The other two should be within the court, two feet from the side line and two feet from the front line, and about five feet higher than those nearest the board, which should be ten feet above the floor. 50 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. The two inner lights should have metal reflectors throwing the light directly on and from the board to the front line, the two outer lights being principally to increase the volume of light in the court and playing field. It is difficult to say which system of lighting is the best, but both should not be used on the same court, for different colored rays of light would cause trouble in judging the ball. American hand ball may be played with three men, the server being the only one who can score; the other two players work as partners and try to put the server out, one following the other in the service, irrespective of which one caused the putout. After the fi.rst server is put out, he becomes the partner of the third man and so on. One man may play two men by giving them two services to his one and having them both play against him all of the time. American hand ball is as strenuous as hockey or basket ball, with the body checking left out, when played by good players, and five spirited games is about all any well-trained athlete can stand, for it uses up energy at a truly frightful clip. On the other hand, unlike hockey, basket ball or foot ball, it can be played leisurely, like tennis or golf, by those who wish a keen contest with fun and diversion, but without extraordinary effort. Heavy men should play with heavy men. Men of middle age and all others should play with those of about equal skill, for there is not much fun for the low score in a one-sided game. The main thing is to fijid players of all degrees of skill at the time and place available. In view of the fact that the game is rapidly spreading to all the large cities this should not be very difficult. Athletes who have obtained prominence, or who desire to do so, In basket ball, foot ball, base ball, soccer, tennis, cricket, pole vaulting, jumping, sparring, etc., should make American hand ball their preliminary training and for the following reasons : It will enormously improve the ability to judge distance quickly; trains the eye in judging direction accurately and quickly; educates the mind to always have complete control of SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 51 the body under all conditions ; greatly improves dodging ability ; gives a feeling of confidence in meeting new situations ; very greatly increases the ability to make a quick start, and a quick stop; it dievelops a larger number of muscles than any other sport; it strengthens the body organically, especially the liver and stomach, and makes training pleasant instead of a bore. BALL American hand balls are one and seven-eighths inches outside diameter when inflated, with one-quarter inch walls, containing air to a pressure of thirty pounds to a square inch. Such balls are moderately fast when new, and they should be, for the difficulty of controlling the ball, that is, driving it where you want to, is what makes the game interesting. Those players learning the game should start with used balls that have been discarded by the more experienced players. GLOVES American hand ball cannot be played without gloves. Being a very fast game, perspiration starts quickly, and if sweat or any liquid gets on the ball it takes all manner of freak shoots and there is no way of judging it. Also the bare flesh of the hand does not offer a hard or smooth surface to the ball. The best gloves are those the palms of which are free from wrinkles, smooth and but slightly flexible. They should fit snugly but not tightly. A hand ball glove should help the player to control the ball by increasing the percentage of accurate shots. All imperfections in the gloves tend to destroy the efficiency of the player. 52 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBKARY Following will be found the rules of the Gaelic Athletic As- sociation of Ireland. They differ mainly from those in vogue in America. Under the Irish rules fifteen aces constitutes a game instead of twenty-one, and in tossing the ball the server can as- sume any position he pleases inside of the short line. The Gaelic rules were framed with a view to govern matches in all sizes and shapes of alleys and courts, and subject to all conditions and circumstances imaginable. In Ireland, as a rule, impromptu matches are played against the nearest gable end or wall without regard to size, and it is to cover such contests as well as those in the regulation alley that the Gaelic rules were drafted. The Court or Alley. 1. A line called the short line must be drawn parallel to the front wall, not nearer to it than half the length, nor further from it than two-thirds of the length of the floor. Note. — For alleys or courts with a clay floor the short lines should be two-thirds of the length from the front wall, but for concrete, flagged, or bricked floors the short line should be nearer the centre. 2. A line should be drawn at the extreme edge of the floor, if there be no back wall, six feet from the boundary, to keep off spectators, and parallel to the front wall. This line to be called the over line. 3. Where there are no side walls, or where the side walls do not extend to the over line, lines should be drawn from the ends of the front wall or side wall to the extremities of the over lines. These lines to be called side lines. 4. A floor should be sixty feet long, or as near to it as possible. A tell-board four inches high should be placed at the base of the front wall. A ball striking the tell-board should be considered SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY 53 as striking the floor. The upper edge of the tell-board should be beveled. The Balls. 5. The balls to be hard and covered with sheepskin or any suitable kind of leather. No ball to be less than one and a half or more than one and three-quarter ounces in weight. The Play. 6. A game to consist of fifteen aces, and to be won by whichever player or team gets this number. 7. A rubber may consist of any odd number of games, and will be won by whichever gains the greater number of games. 8. A "home and home" rubber to be played in the two alleys or courts belonging to the challenged and challenging players — as many games as "may be agreed on to be played in the one alley or court, and the remainder or a sufficient number of games to decide the rubber in the second alley or court. 9. Before commencing a rubber the opposing players shall toss for choice of inside or outside ground. One "hand" shall be given for first innings of every game ; two "hands" for second and suc- ceeding innings, if there be two players on each side; and three "hands" for third and succeeding innings "if there be three players on each side. When one game is finished the winners will have choice of ground. 10. All balls served out from the front wall to the outside must be tossed — that is, hopped and struck with the hand against the front wall. Jerking not to be allowed in inter-alley, champion- ship, or inter-county matches. 11. An ace to count when an outside player misses a ball, fails to return one which has been tossed out or played to him, or makes a "foul." A "hand out" to count when an inside player misses a ball, fails to return one which has been played to him, or makes a "foul." 12. Touching a ball to be considered as playing to it ; should it be played to a second time by the player who struck it, or his 54 SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY partner, before reaching the front wall, it shall be foul, and count as an ace or hand out. Playing to a ball on the second succeeding hop to be foul, and an ace or hand out. 13. Should a pla3^er catch, or deliberately stop a ball going to the front wall, a hand out or ace should be given according as the of- fender is an inside or outside player. 14. A ball which crosses the side line or side wall will be an ace or hand out, according as the player who last played to it is an inside or outside player. When a ball crossing the side line be struck at and missed before it hops, an ace shall be given against the player who missed. If the ball has hopped, and the player is not sure whether it is inside the line or not, he should call for judgment, and proceed as in Rule 23. 15. Should a playei strike a ball and it to go up off his partner it is foul, and shall count as an ace or hand out. Should a player strike at a ball with both hands together it is fouL. Service. "16. The partner or partners of the player who Is serving must stand at side line or side wall and inside the short line until the ball is served. 17. No ball to be tossed out until the outside players are in posi- tion outside the short line. The judge may disallow any ball tossed out before the outside players are prepared, or while a question of judgment is being decided. 18. If the player who is serving tosses the ball over the side line or side wall, it will be a hand out. Should he fail to toss three successive balls between the short and over lines it will be a hand out. Should he strike the ball against the ground, the side wall, or his own person ere striking the front wall, it will be a hand out. Should he miss the ball when tossing it will be a hand out. Should he jerk the ball it will be a hand out. A ball hopping on a line to be over that line. 19. All balls tossed out between the short and over line must be . played to unless they have touched the player who served them or his partner after leaving the front wall, or unless the judge dis- SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY 55 allows them. Should the partner of the player who is serving prevent a ball crossing the side line it will be foul. 20. Should the player who is tossing, or his partner, catch the ball before it hops a second time, it will be a hand out. Should the outside player catch a ball before it hops a second time, unless he be standing four feet outside the over line, it will be an ace. Hinders. 21. Should a player strike a ball and it afterwards strike his opponent, it shall be a hinder, and must be played over. 22. Should a ball coming from the front wall strike the player who put it up, or his partner, it is a hinder. 2^. Should a player, while the ball is in play, think that a foul has occurred, he must call for judgment and play on. When the ball has been played out the judge will decide if a foul has occurred, and give his decision accordingly. Should no foul have taken place the result of the play will count. The judge may, if he wishes, declare an ace or hand out when a foul occurs without waiting for the ball to be played out. 24. Should a player obstruct another in such a manner that he cannot play, the judge may give a hinder. Should the obstruction be wilful, the judge may give an ace or hand out against the offender. 25. Any ball brought off the front wall in play to or beyond the over line shall count dead and be played over. 26. When a ball is over or short the player may, or may not, as he pleases, pla^' to it. Should he try to play to it and miss, \\ will be an ace. Should he call "over" or "short," and put the ball up, it will be dead and must be played over. 27. In a court, a ball brought off front wall in play over back wall shall be dead and shall be played over, 28. The decision of the judge to be final. ^fiiK THE SPALDING TRADEMARK S/rf SPALDING HAND BALLS Hand ball, played indoors, will keep base ball players and other athletes in good condition during hard weather w^hen outdoor athletics are out of the question. The leather covered hand balls we make are wound by hand, and are the same as those used by the best ball players in this country. Leather Covered Hand Balls No. 1. Match, regulation size and w^eight. . Each, $1.25 No. 2. Expert. . " .50 No. 4. Amateur. " .25 Rubber Hand Balls No. 6. Black Rubber, best quality Each, 35c. Red Ace, Irish Regulation red rubber ball " 35c. Black Ace, Irish Regulation black rubber ball ** 35c. No. 0. Squash Balls, with "overspun" cover. Popular for hand ball. " 50c HAND BALL GLOVES No. B No. A No. 2 No. 3 No. B. Stiff flat fingers and palm of solid leather. Patented construction and the most practical style glove for the game as played in this country. Patented January 6, 1914 Pair, $3.50 No. A. Best quality black leather; stitched palm. Palm lec^ther lined. Pair. $2.50 No. 2. Soft tan leather, stitched palm " 1.50 No. 3. Fingerless '' .75 PROMFTAnENTIONCIVENTOl m COMMUNICATIONS ADDRESSED TO US A.G.SPALDING & BROS. STORES IN ALL LARGE CITIES I FOR COMPLETE LIST OF STORES SEE INSIDE FRONT GOVEB OF THIS BOOK 7*ricts In tffccl Julu 5,1915 Sutjttl to change without notice. For Canadian pricet tee tficdal Canad i an Caloloigu*. ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTE THES^ALDING((^))TRADEMARK GUARANTEES QUALITY SPALDING GYMNASIUM SHOES (t&nmulam Sfcoe» must t>e comfortable and easy, yet fit snugly and give the wearer a sure footmg- they must aUo be^urablfc^ ^ ■ Spalding Gymnasium Shoes possess all of these good qualities and, in addition, are reasonable m pne*.. No. IS Correct Shoes for Boxing No. 15. High cut, kanga- roo uppers, genuine elk- skin soles. Will not slip on floor; extra light. The .correct shoes to wear for boxing. Pair. $5.00 No. 155. High cut, elk- skin soles, and will not slip on floor; soft and flex- ible. . . . Pair, $4.50 No. 166. Low cut, se. lected leather, extra light and electric soles; men's sizes only. Pair, $3.00 No. 66L. Worrten's. Low cut, extra light, selected leather uppers. Electric soles. . . Pair, $3.00 No. 90L. Women's. Low cut, black leather, elec- tric soles and corrugated rubber heels. Pair, $2.50 No. 21. High cut, black leather, electric soles. Sewed .and turhed, which makes shoes ex- tremely light and flexible. Pair, $2.50 No. 20. "Low cut. Other- wse as No. 2 \ . Sewed and turned shoes. Pair. $2.00 No. 20L. Women's. Other- wise as No. 20. Sew^ed and turned shoes. Pair, $2.00 'No. 133. Best selected black kid uppers, soles with flexible shank. Very satisfactory fo'r general gymnasium and camping use. . . . Pair, $4.50 Spalding Special Bowling Shoes No, 148. For bowling and general gymnasium use. Light drab chrome tanned leather uppers with electric soles. Laces extremely low down. Pair, $3.50 No. 166 No.90t No. 20 PftOMPT ATTENTION GIVEN TO I ANY COMMUNICATIONS ADOBESSEDTOUS A. G.SPALDING &, BROS. STORES IN ALL LARGE CITIES I FOR COMPLETE LIST OF STORES SEE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THIS BOOt Thtca In eftcl lulu 5. 19 f 5 5u4;ec/ to cAanpJ wilhoul nofiec For Canadian prices ttc special Canadian Cuto/oguo lEMfSKIi SUBSTITUTE MBM No. AB, SPALDING BASKET BALL SHOES Spalding "Sprinting" Basket Ball Shoes No. BBS. Made with flexible shank, on same principle as on ' "sprinting" base ball and foot ball shoes. Elxtremely light in weight, well finished inside. Improved patented pure gum thick rubber suction soles, with reinforced edges, absolutely guaranteed to give satisfaction with reasonable use. Lace extremely far down. Uppers of best quality black genuine kangaroo leather. Light, flexible and dur- able. Strictly bench made. Supplied on special order only, not carried in stock. .... Pair, $8.00 * $750 Pair. On orders/or five pairs or more, price in italics, preceded by -k, will apply, SPECIAL NOTICE — In a game like basket ball, which is played generally on board floors, there is a, strain on the feet altogether different from that in almost any other athletic game, and to support this stram, properly made shoes with leather uppers and correctly shaped soles are absolutely necessary It is a fact that players on many teams wear canvas top shoes and we supply in our No. P shoes, listed below, absolutely the best canvas top basket ball shoes ever made, and the same style as worn by some very successful teams, but from our long experience in catering to athletes and watching closely, as we have done, the development of basket ball and its effects on the physical condition of players, Vfe cannot consistently recommend can- vas top shoes for any athletic use and especially not for basket ball, No. AB. High cut, drab calf, Blucher cut; heavy red rub- ber suction soles, superior quality. Pair, $5.00 No.BBL.Womens. High cut, black chrome leather, good quality red rubber suction soles. Pair, $4.50 Spalding Special Canvas Top Basket Ball Shoes Special quality soft rubber soles. These soles absolutely hold on the most slippery floor. Light weight, durable, correct in design. Sizes 5 to 1 f only. No other sizes. No. P. Pair, $37^0 * $39.00 Dozen pairs. On orders f