Basketball Games Fist Ball
( Basketball, Handball, Team Wars and Battle, Volleyball )This game is very similar to Volley Ball but differs from that game in the fact that the ball is hit with the fist instead of the open hand that the ball may bound on the ground and that the general rules are simpler. For large numbers two balls may be used as described at the end.
GROUND.–The ground should be if possible one hundred feet long and sixty feet wide with clearly defined boundaries. Across the center of the ground a rope or cord is stretched head high which divides the ground into two equal courts. If desired each court may be divided into small squares one for each player to prevent mass play.
PLAYERS.–The players are divided into two equal teams each of which scatters promiscuously over the court unless assigned to squares as described above. The players in each team should be numbered consecutively to facilitate rotation in serving. One officer will be needed to act as umpire and scorer.
OBJECT OF GAME.–The object of the game is to send the ball back and forth across the stretched cord striking it only with the fist. The game is defensive that is the scoring is done by one party when the opponents fail to return the ball or to keep it properly in play.
START.–The ball is put in play by a regular serve at the opening of the game after each point scored and after going out of play. The players take turns in serving for their team being numbered before the game opens. The sides alternate in serving after a score.
The player who serves the ball should stand at a central point ten feet from the dividing line and may serve the ball in two ways. He may bound it and bat it with the fist over into the opponents court or he may hold it above his head let go of it and as it falls serve it with his fist. The ball must go over the line to be in play. Should a server fail in this the ball must be handed to the opposite side which then has a trial. After a ball has otherwise gone out of play it is served anew by the side responsible for the failure.
RULES AND POINTS OF PLAY.–The ball must cross into the opponents court above the cord to score or be properly in play.
A ball to score its highest (two points) must be returned after a serve without bounding although any number of players may hit it or keep it in the air before sending it back over the line. A ball may bound once before being returned and score less (one point). It is out of play if it bounds twice without being hit between the bounds.
Several methods of play are permissible but the rule is invariable that the ball must always be hit with the closed fist and always from underneath except for sending it across the line. It must reach the opponents court from a blow and not from a bound. Either fist may be used in striking a ball but never both at once. A player may “dribble” the ball in the air before batting it over the line to the opponents that is he may keep it in the air by hitting it from underneath with his closed fist (“nursing” it) until he is prepared to bat it with his fist. A ball hit with the forearm is considered properly in play except for a service. Several players on one side may play on the ball before sending it into the opponents court. In doing this the ball may bounce once after every time it is hit with the fist.
A ball is out of play (1) when it passes under the line or touches the line (2) when it touches the ground twice in succession without being hit between the bounds (3) when it touches the ground outside the boundaries from a blow (4) when it bounds out of boundaries. Whenever a ball is put out of play in these ways it is sent back to the side responsible for the failure and they must put it in play again.
Whenever a side scores a point the ball must again be put into play with a regular serve the sides taking turns in this and each player on a side serving in turn.
SCORE.–The score is made by both sides and is for returning the ball. If returned to the opponents without touching the ground it counts two points for those returning it. A ball which touches the ground once before being hit back over the line scores one point. The game consists of twenty-five points.
After each game the two sides exchange courts.
FOR LARGE NUMBERS it is very desirable to have two or more balls in play at once. They are served simultaneously from opposite sides of the ground at the opening of the game. There should be one score keeper for each ball.
FOR THE PARLOR.–This game may be played in the parlor with a light gas ball measuring four or five inches in diameter or with a childs gas balloon. The same rules apply as in other forms of the game.