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FIVES
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FIVES , a See also:ball-See also:game played by two or four players in a See also:court enclosed on three or four sides, the ball being struck with the See also:hand, usually protected by a See also:glove, whence the game is known in See also:America as " handball." The origin of the game is probably the See also:French jeu de paume, See also:tennis played with the hand, the hand in that See also:case being eventually superseded by the racquet. Fives and See also:racquets are probably both descended from the jeu de paume, of which they are simplified forms. The name fives may be derived from la longue paume, in which five on a See also:side played, or from the five fingers, or from the fact that five points had to be made by the winners (in See also:modern times the game consists of fifteen points). Fives is played in See also:Great See also:Britain principally at the See also:schools and See also:universities, although its encouragement is included in the functions of the Tennis Racquets and Fives Association, founded in 1908. In America it is much affected for training purposes by professional athletes and boxers. There are two forms of fives—the See also:Eton game and the See also:Rugby game—which require See also:separate See also:notice, though the See also:main features of the two See also:games are the serving of the ball to the taker of the service, the See also:necessity of hitting the ball before the secondbounce, and of hitting it above a See also:line and within the limits of the court. Eton Fives.—The See also:peculiar features of the Eton court arose from the fact that in See also:early times the game was played against the See also:chapel-See also:wall, so that buttresses formed side walls and the See also:balustrade of the chapel-steps projected into the court, while a step divided the court latitudinally. These were reproduced in the See also:regular courts, the See also:buttress being known as the " See also:pepper-See also:box " and the space between it and the step as the " hole." The riser of the step is about 5 in. The See also:floor of the court is paved; there is no back wall. On the front wall is a ledge, known as the " line," 4 ft. 6 in. from the floor, and a See also:vertical line, painted; 3 ft. 8 in. from the right-hand wall. Four See also:people usually See also:play, two against two; one of each pair plays in the forward court, the other in the back court. The server stands on the See also:left of the forward court, his partner in the right-hand corner of the back court; the taker of the service by the right wall of the forward court, his partner at the left-hand corner of the back court. The forward court is known as " on-wall," the other as " off-wall." The server must toss the ball gently against the front wall, above the line, so that it afterwards hits the right wall and falls on the " off-wall," but the server's See also:object is not, as at tennis and racquets, to send a service that cannot be returned. At fives he must send a service that hand-out can take easily; indeed hand-out can refuse to take any service that he does not like, and if he fails to return the ball above the line no stroke is counted. After the service has been returned either of the opponents returns the ball if he can, and so on, each side and either member of it returning the ball above the line alternately till one side or the other hits it below the line or out of court. Only hand-in can See also:score. If hand-in wins a stroke, his side scores a point; if he misses a stroke he loses his innings and his partner becomes server, unless he has already served in this See also:round, in which case the opponents become hand-in. The game is fifteen points. If the score is " 13 all," the out side may " set " the game to 5 or 3; i.e. the game becomes one of 5 or 3 points; at " 14 all " it may be set to three. The game and its terminology being somewhat intricate, can best be learnt in the court. No apparatus is required except padded gloves and fives-balls, which are covered with See also: Rugby Fives is much less complicated owing to the simpler See also:form of the court. The rules as to service, taking the balls, &c., are the same as in Eton Fives. The balls are rather smaller. The courts are larger, measuring about 34 ft. by 19 ft. 6 in. and may be roofed or open. The side walls slope from 20 ft. to 12 ft. Some courts have a See also:dwarf back wall, some have none. The back wall, when there is one, is 5 ft. 8 in. in height. In some courts the side walls are See also:plain; in others, where there is no back wall, a See also:projection about 3 in. deep is built at right angles to the two side walls; in others a buttress, similar to the See also:tambour of the tennis-court, is built out from the left-hand wall about To ft. from the front wall, and continued to the end of the court. The line is generally a See also:board fixed across the front wall, its upper edge 34 in. from the ground, but the height varies slightly. Handball, of See also:ancient popularity in See also:Ireland and much played in the See also:United States, is practically identical with fives, though there are See also:minor See also:differences. The usual See also:American court is about 6o ft. See also:long, 2,44 ft. wide and 35 ft. high at the front, tapering to 33 ft. at the back wall. The front wall is of See also:brick faced with See also:marble, the sides of See also:cement and the floor of white See also:pine laid on beams to in. apart. These are the dimensions of the See also:Brooklyn court of the former American See also:champion, Phil Casey (d. 1904), which has been extensively copied. Twenty-one aces constitute a game and gloves are not usually worn. The American ball is a trifle larger and softer than the Irish, which is called a " red See also:ace " when made of solid red See also:rubber, and " See also:black ace " when made of black rubber. Baggs of See also:Tipperary, who was in his See also:prime about 1855, was the most celebrated Irish handball player. In his See also:day nearly every See also:village See also:tavern in Ireland had a court. See also:Browning and Lawlor, who won the Irish championship in 1885, were his most prominent successors. In America Phil Casey and See also:Michael See also:Egan are the best-known names. See A. See also:Tait's Fives in the All See also:England See also:Series: " Fives " in the See also:Encyclopaedia of See also:Sport; and See also:Official Handball See also:Guide in See also:Spalding's Athletic Library. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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