Handball in the United States

Last updated

Handball in the United States is a minor sport. [1] The U.S. is represented in international competitions, such as the Summer Olympics and the Pan American Games, by the United States men's national handball team and the United States women's national handball team. The U.S. men's and women's teams have struggled in international competitions against nations where handball is more popular. [2]

Contents

A common popular sport in European countries, handball is seldom seen in the United States. [3] The sport is mostly played in the country on the amateur level. Handball is played in the Summer Olympics, but is not sanctioned by the NCAA; all college and university teams play as club teams.[ citation needed ] In 2020, a former USA Team Handball CEO Barry Siff said that they are planning to create an American professional team handball league sponsored by Verizon. [4] They are planning to have the owners until the end of 2020, and to launch the league in 2023 with 10 teams with each team initially worth $3 million to $5 million and want to cooperate with NBA or NHL owners in one-tenant arena situations. [5] [6]

It is governed by USA Team Handball, which is funded in part by the U.S. Olympic Committee. [7] Previously, the governing body was the United States Team Handball Federation, but was revoked of its governing duties by the United States Olympic Committee.[ citation needed ]

Handball is starting to be recognized by a few notable universities, such as West Point, The Ohio State University, University of North Carolina (UNC), Air Force, Texas A&M University, University of Virginia and others. Those schools and academies along with other amateur teams participate in the Club National Championships and Collegiate National Championships, one for men and the other for women. [8] [9] There are also several club level leagues in various sections of the country, like the Midwest Team Handball League, Northeast Team Handball League, and the Great Lakes Team Handball Association.

History

Handball in the United States
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
3km
2miles
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
New York
Invisible Square.svg
Red pog.svg
Kolping
Red pog.svg
Hoboken
Invisible Square.svg
Red pog.svg
Elizabeth
Invisible Square.svg
Red pog.svg
Newark
Invisible Square.svg
Red pog.svg
Union City
Invisible Square.svg
Red pog.svg
Brooklyn
Invisible Square.svg
  
Locations of the seven clubs in NY and NJ
Location of Union City and New York are not clear

John Jakobs was the founder of the first handball section (First German Sport Club of Brooklyn) in the USA. On 26 May 1926 he made a call in the New Yorker Herold to promote handball.

On 28 October 1926 the first field handball game was played between the Turnverein Union City and the First German Sport Club of Brooklyn. The game ended in a 9 to 9 draw. Newark TV joined the other two and they played some friendly games.

In 1927 the German American Athletic Union (GAAU) started to sponsor field handball. The first handball chairman was Gustav Ricke from First German Sport Club of Brooklyn. In the season 1927-28 only friendly games were played.

Professional leagues

In 1978, the National Teamball League was formed with six clubs: the Detroit Hawks, Chicago Chiefs, Boston Comets, New York Stags, Philadelphia Warriors and Pittsburgh Points. The NTL (described as an "Americanized" version of team handball, with faster play and higher scores) was bankrolled by Aben Johnson, Jr., owner of WXON-TV in Detroit, and WXON aired the league's first game, a 48-26 victory by Detroit over Chicago. [10] The match, played in front of about 800 people at Macomb County Community College in Warren, Michigan, was taped in early December and aired on WXON on Friday, December 8, 1978, and again the next day. [11]

The Hawks-Chiefs matchup was the only NTL match known to have been televised; in fact, it was one of the few known to have been played, as press coverage of the loop was almost nonexistent. A local Boston-area newspaper, the Charlestown Patriot and Somerville Chronicle, covered at least one of their matches, as the Comets played at Medford Street Gym in Charlestown, Massachusetts with several local players. After a win over Detroit (the Hawks' first loss of the season) on February 3, 1979, the Comets record was reported as 4-0, including two victories over Philadelphia in December. Whether the league's first season (scheduled to run through April 1979) was completed is unknown; most likely, the NTL died quickly and disappeared. ("National Teamball League, Inc." was incorporated by Johnson in August 1978 and dissolved in March 1980.) [12]

In 2020, former USA Team Handball CEO Barry Siff stated that plans were in development to create an American professional team handball league. [4] The new, unnamed league's launch is scheduled for 2023, with 10 teams initially worth three to five million dollars apiece. There are also plans to cooperate with NBA or NHL owners in one-tenant arena situations, [5] and perhaps create multisports clubs like FC Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain. [13]

SeasonLeagueCupTeams
1929Not held German Sport Club of Elizabeth
1929-30 First German Sport Club of Brooklyn First German Sport Club of Brooklyn ?
1930-31 Newark TV ?
13 teams
1931-32 Newark TV ??
1932-33Not held??
1933-34 First German Sport Club of Brooklyn ??
1934-35 Newark TV ??
1935-36 Cake Baker's Sport Club [14] ??
1936-37???
1937-38 Cake Baker's Sport Club [14] ??

Because handball was part of the 1936 Summer Olympics the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) started to sponsor field handball in 1934. Many of the handball leaders of the DAAV were chosen to lead the handball committee of the AAU. [15]

In 1942 the Office of Alien Property Custodian seized all records of the German American Athletic Union. [16]

After World War II, handball had no national body until 1959 as the United States Team Handball Federation was founded. In the same year, the United States Handball Federation League was founded. The Elizabeth S.C. won at least all season until 1967. [17] In 1962, nine teams from New York and New Jersey played in the league as a winter conditioner for soccer. [18] In 1963, 20 teams with 200 players competed in handball. [19]

Middle school

San Francisco Bay Area

The Youth Team Handball Middle School League and Youth California Cup organized by San Francisco CalHeat THC are the only competitions accommodating middle school in the USA.

YearBoysGirls
LeagueCupLeagueCup
2017Stanbridge [20] Lycée Français [21] No league or Cup
for the Girls
2018Bret Harte [22] Bret Harte [23]
2019Bret HarteCastillero
2020No championships due to Covid
2021Bret HarteBret HarteBret Harte
2022Bret HarteBret HarteBret Harte

High school

San Francisco Bay Area

The Youth Team Handball High School League and Youth California Cup organized by San Francisco CalHeat THC are the high school competitions in the SF Bay Area.

YearLeagueCup
2016Sterne [24] Sterne [25]
2017Sterne [20] Sterne [21]
2018Lycée Français [26] Lycée Français 1
2019LelandLeland
2020No championship due to Covid
2021Cali Kings HandballCali Kings Handball
2022Pioneer
1 Youth Cup was cancelled due to bad air quality because of the Camp Fire (2018). Lycée Français got the title because of their regular season record. [23]

Montgomery County, Maryland

The MCPS Athletics offers team handball as corollary sports. [27]

SeasonCounty [28] Division [29]
2012-13noneClarksburg (West)
Blair (East)
2013-14MargruderMagrunder (West)
Blair (South)
2014-15BlairWootton (South)
Sherwood (East)
2015-16WoottonSherwood (D-1)
Wootton (D-2)
2016-17BlairSherwood (D-1)
Blair (D-2)
2017-18WoottonSherwood (D-1)
Wootton (D-2)
2018-19 [30] Walt WhitmanSherwood (D-1)
Blair (D-2)
2019-20 [31] BlairClarksburg (D-1)
Sherwood (D-2)
2020–21No championship due to Covid
2021-22 [32] Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman (D-1)
2022–23WoottonSingle Division

See also

Related Research Articles

Touch is a variant of rugby league that is conducted under the direction of the Federation of International Touch (FIT). Though it shares similarities and history with rugby league, it is recognised as a sport in its own right due to its differences which have been developed over the sport's lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big West Conference</span> NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference in the western United States

The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), and in 1988 was renamed the Big West Conference. The conference stopped sponsoring college football after the 2000 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast Conference</span> College athletics conference

The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College rowing in the United States</span> Team sport version of rowing practiced by universities in the United States

Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States. The first intercollegiate race was a contest between Yale and Harvard in 1852. In the 2018–19 school year, there were 2,340 male and 7,294 female collegiate rowers in Divisions I, II and III, according to the NCAA. The sport has grown since the first NCAA statistics were compiled for the 1981–82 school year, which reflected 2,053 male and 1,187 female collegiate rowers in the three divisions. Some concern has been raised that some recent female numbers are inflated by non-competing novices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in the United States</span> Overview of sports traditions and activities in the United States of America

Sports in the United States are an important part of the nation's culture. Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership audience. Basketball has grown into the mainstream American sports scene since the 1980s, with ice hockey and soccer doing the same around the turn of the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Club</span> Athletic club and golf club in San Francisco

The Olympic Club is an athletic club and private social club in San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Golden Bears</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of California, Berkeley

The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as California or Cal, the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I primarily as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Over the course of the school's history, California has won team national titles in 13 men's and 3 women's sports and 115 team titles overall. Cal athletes have also competed in the Olympics for a host of different countries. Notable facilities used by the Bears include California Memorial Stadium (football) and Haas Pavilion. Cal finished the 2010–11 athletic season with 1,219.50 points, earning third place in the Director's Cup standings, the Golden Bears' highest finish ever. Cal did not receive any points for its national championships in rugby and men's crew because those sports are not governed by the NCAA. Cal finished 12th in the 2014-15 standings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hummel International</span> Danish manufacturing company of sportswear

Hummel International Sport & Leisure A/S, commonly known as Hummel, is a German-founded Danish manufacturing company of sportswear brand based in Aarhus. It is owned by Thornico. The company currently manufactures apparel for football, rugby league, futsal, handball, basketball, shinty, volleyball and esport teams. Moreover, the company also offers apparel and footwear for children alongside its fashion sub-brand, Hummel HIVE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in California</span>

California has 21 major professional sports franchises, far more than any other US state. The San Francisco Bay Area has six major league teams spread amongst three cities: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. The Greater Los Angeles Area has ten major league teams. San Diego and Sacramento each have one major league team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area</span> Overview of sports in the San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the major cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, hosts six major league sports franchises, with a major women's sports franchise soon to start play, as well as several other professional and college sports teams, and hosts other sports events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Soccer Football League</span> American soccer league

The San Francisco Soccer Football League or SFSFL, established in 1902, is "the oldest American soccer league in continuous existence."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cal Poly Mustangs women's basketball</span> College basketball team

The Cal Poly Mustangs women's basketball team represents California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference, which they have played in since 1996, two years after joining Division I. The team plays its home games in Mott Athletics Center.

The Men's College National is a team handball tournament to determine the College National Champion from the US.

The Men's Elite Division is a team handball tournament to determine the National Champion from the US. Only qualified teams are allowed to play in this division. The other teams who fail to qualify play in the Open Division. Automatic bids are given to the winners of the Northeast Team Handball League, and the Midwest Team Handball and, in the past, were also given to the Great Lakes Team Handball Association, and Western Team Handball League. In the current format, the Elite Division comprises 8 teams. Before the Elite Division existed the National Champion was claimed at the Open Division.

The women's open national is a USA Team Handball tournament to determine the national handball champion from the US. Chicago Inter holds the most title in the women's division. The current US reigning champion is San Francisco CalHeat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Team Handball Nationals</span> US athletic tournament

The National is a team handball tournament to determine the Men's and Women's National Champion from the United States. At the men's side there exist an Elite and Open Division. In years with many teams, the Open Division is split in Division I and II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USAFA Team Handball</span>

USAF Team Handball is a handball club from Air Force Academy, Colorado, United States. They are the handball team of the United States Air Force Academy. They are one of the most successful men's college teams. Besides the Adelphi University and UCLA they are the only college team which has won an adult national title in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Donlin</span> American handball player

Andrew Lawrence Donlin is an American professional handball player and a United States Air Force Captain. His nickname is Captain America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco CalHeat</span> American handball club

San Francisco CalHeat is a handball club from the San Francisco Bay Area. It has approximately 100 members, and five teams. The top women's and men's teams compete at the highest level in the United States and have won the national championships multiple times. The women's and men's teams are the current USA Team Handball reigning national champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship</span>

The North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship, organized by the North America and Caribbean Handball Confederation, is the official competition for men's handball clubs of North America and Caribbean, and takes place every year. In addition to crowning the NorCa champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifying tournament for the IHF Men's Super Globe.

References

  1. "How USA Team Handball Plans to Break Through – SportsTravel". 19 February 2020.
  2. "Why isn’t handball popular in the US?", Boston Globe, Shira Springer, August 16, 2016.
  3. Springer, Shira (August 16, 2016). "Why isn't handball popular in the US? – The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Professional handball League in USA with 10 teams to start in 2023? | Handball Planet". 28 January 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Verizon steps into Rings, sponsors Team Handball". Sports Business Journal. January 20, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  6. Lefton, Terry (January 22, 2020). "Verizon steps into the Olympic rings, sponsors Team Handball" . New York Business Journal . Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  7. "Team Handball: Why the U.S. Stinks", Wall Street Journal, Barry Newman, August 22, 2008.
  8. http://usateamhandball.org/content/index/6497%5B%5D
  9. "2009 Men's Collegiate National Championship | Events | USA Team Handball". Archived from the original on 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  10. "Yes, folks, yet another pro sport".
  11. "Sports on television, Detroit Free Press".
  12. "NATIONAL TEAMBALL LEAGUE, INC".
  13. Lefton, Terry (22 January 2020). "Verizon steps into the Olympic rings, sponsors Team Handball" . New York Business Journal . Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Zwölf Jahre Cake Baker's Sport Club" [Twelve years Cake Baker's Sport Club]. 15. Stiftungsfest Deutsch-Amerikanischer Athletik-Verband von Nordamerika Festschrift[15. anniversary celebration German American Athletic Union of North America commemorative] (in German). German American Athletic Union. 1941. p. 109.
  15. "Vom Handball" [From handball]. Zehnjähriges Jubiläum 1925 - 1935[Tenth anniversary 1925 - 1935] (in German). New York City: Deutsch-Amerikanischer Athletik-Verband von Nord-Amerika. 1935. OCLC   1070710652.
  16. Seized Records of the German American Athletic Union, ca. 1942 - 1950. Record Group 131: Records of the Office of Alien Property, 1878 - 1966. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  17. "Team Handball Tourney Slated At Summit Gym". The Chatham Press . 9 November 1967. p. 8. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  18. "German Team to Play Rugged Sport of European Handball Here" . New York Times : 37. 2 April 1962. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021. Played only sporadically here by foreign-born members of sports club as a winter conditioner for soccer, European handball has grown into a nine-team league in New York and New Jersey.
  19. Feldhandball-Weltmeisterschaft (Program for the Field WC 1963) (in German). 1963. p. 29.
  20. 1 2 "Youth Team Handball League-2017". San Francisco CalHeat THC . 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  21. 1 2 "Youth California Cup 2017". San Francisco CalHeat THC . 19 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  22. "Youth Team Handball Middle School League". San Francisco CalHeat THC . Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  23. 1 2 "Youth California Cup 2018". San Francisco CalHeat THC . Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  24. "Youth Team Handball League 2016". San Francisco CalHeat THC . Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  25. "Youth California Cup 2016". San Francisco CalHeat THC . 5 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  26. "Youth Team Handball High School League". San Francisco CalHeat THC . Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  27. "Corollary Sports". Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) . Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  28. "Team Handball County Champions". Google Docs . Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland). 20 November 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  29. "Team Handball Division Champions". Google Docs . Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland). 20 November 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  30. @MCPSAthletics (November 7, 2018). "Congratulations to @WWHSAthletics Team Handball 2018 County Champions! #WeRAISE" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-12 via Twitter.
  31. @MCPSAthletics (November 6, 2019). "Congratulations to @BlairAthletics for winning the 2019 @MCPS Team Handball Championship! Great season for @WarriorResults, who finish season as division champions! Congratulations to both teams on a well-played, exciting game! #WeRAISE" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2019-11-06. Retrieved 2020-06-29 via Twitter.
  32. @MCPSAthletics (November 2, 2021). "Congratulations @WWHSAthletics 2021 Team Handball County Champions! #WeRAISE @mcpsAD" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2019-06-12 via Twitter.