center hole under the ball. They count, "One, two, three!" and on the
last word all lift the ball with the sticks and then rush for the
small holes, each player placing the end of his stick in a hole. As
there is one less hole than the number of players, one odd player will
be left out. It thereupon becomes his duty to drive the pig into the
hole from whatever point it may have landed through the combined
effort and toss with which the game opened. The circle players try to
prevent the pig getting into the hole by blocking its passage with
their sticks. They may not kick it or play upon it in any other way.
The odd player will try to ward off the interference of the sticks by
clearing a way in front of the ball with his own. The other players
may leave their places at any time to block the passage of the ball;
but this is a dangerous thing to do, for the odd player may at any
moment leave his work with the ball and place his stick in one of the
vacant holes. It therefore behooves the circle players to leave their
holes unguarded only when there is imminent danger of the ball
entering the center hole from that side of the ring, or when a good
opportunity comes for aggressive play to drive the ball out of the
ring, which should also be one of their objects.
It is not necessary for a player to return to his own hole after
having removed his stick from it. Any hole may be taken by any player,
and much of the interest of the game lies in the freedom with which
players will move about and take chances in this way.
If the driver succeeds in getting his pig in the center hole, he is
considered to have won, and the game begins again. Should the driver
succeed in placing his stick in an unoccupied hole in the circle, the
odd player thus left out must become driver.
FOR THE GYMNASIUM.--This game may be adapted to the gymnasium by
drawing chalk circles in place of those that would be dug in the
ground out of doors. The same rules apply for the game, which may be
played either with a basket ball or a bean bag.
This game is found in many countries. Several of the forms of
play here given are from the Chinese. It is an old traditional
game in England and popular there to-day.
PROGRESSIVE CAPTAIN BALL
(See _Captain Ball V_.)
PROGRESSIVE DODGEBALL
(See _Dodgeball_.)
RING CALL BALL
(See also _Call Ball_.)
_10 to 30 or more players._
_Playground; gymnasium._
_Hand ball; bean bag._
This game is similar in some respects to Call Ball, but being played
in a circle formation, is much simpler and less difficult and
exciting, being suited particularly to younger players.
The players form a circle, with one in the center, who throws a ball
in the air, at the same time calling the name of one of the circle
players. The one called must run forward and catch the ball before it
bounds more than once. If he catches it, he returns to the circle. If
he does not catch it, he changes places with the thrower.
ROLEY POLEY
(Hat Ball)
_5 to 20 players._
_Playground; gymnasium._
_Hand ball; bean bag._
A row of holes three or four inches in diameter is made in the ground,
with about one foot space between. There should be one hole less than
the number of players. Boys' caps may be placed in a similar row
instead of digging holes. Parallel with the row of holes, and about
twenty feet away from it, a base line is drawn. A pile of pebbles
(called "babies") should be collected before the game begins.
[Illustration: BALL GAME ON THE ROOF PLAYGROUND OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL]
The game consists primarily of rolling a ball into one of the holes or
caps, followed by ball tag, and a scoring with the pebbles. The
players stand each a little distance behind a hole except one, who is
chosen to be the first roller. He rolls the ball from the base line
into one of the holes or caps. Immediately he and all of the players
except the one into whose hole the ball has fallen, run, scattering in
any direction. The one to whose lot the ball has fallen lifts the ball
as quickly as possible, calling "Stand!" as soon as he has it in his
hand. The running players must halt when they hear this order, and the
one who holds the ball tries to hit one of them with it from where he
stands. If he succeeds in doing so, one of the pebbles is put in the
cap of the player who is hit. Should he miss hitting any one, a pebble
is put in his own cap. Should the player who tries to roll the ball
into one of the holes or caps miss getting it in, a pebble is put in
his own cap, and he makes other trials until he succeeds. When a
player is hit by the ball, he becomes roller, and all of the others
return to their places. The game continues until one player gets six
(or ten) stones ("babies") in his hole or cap. When this happens, he
must be "court-martialed," that is, stand with his face against a wall
or fence and let each player take three shots at him with the rubber
ball, the first time with the thrower's eyes closed and then with them
open. The distance of the throwers from the fence is determined by the
victim's throwing the ball at the fence three times so it will
rebound; the farthest point to which the ball rebounds becomes the
throwing line for the court-martialing. If no fence or wall be
available, the throwing is done from an agreed distance at the back of
the victim.
This game may be played by drawing a series of circles on the ground
or floor in place of the holes or cap, and sliding a bean bag into
them. This form is serviceable for a gymnasium.
ROUND BALL
_20 to 60 players._
_Playground; gymnasium; schoolroom._
_Hand ball; basket ball._
This is an advanced form of Circle Ball, there being two competing
teams in a circle, with wide spaces between.
The players form in a circle, drop hands, and step backward two paces
to make an interval between players. They number off in twos. The
first Number One is captain for the Ones, and the first Number Two is
captain for the Twos. Each captain has a ball. The game consists in
throwing the ball around the circle, the ball started by captain
Number One going only to the players of that number, and the ball
started by captain Number Two to the players who bear his number.
The party wins whose ball first completes the circle five times. Each
time that the captain receives the ball he calls out a number
corresponding to the number of times the ball has circulated, "One"
for the first time, "Two" for the second, etc. The play should be
rapid. Any player dropping the ball must pick it up and throw in
regular form.
The game may be varied by requiring different methods of throwing and
catching, such as catching with the right hand, left hand, both hands,
etc., if a hand ball be used; or throw from below, above, or pushing
straight from the chest if a basket ball be used.
RUSSIAN HOLE BALL
_3 to 10 players._
_Out of doors; seashore; snow._
_Ball; bean bag; stone._
This game is played with one small ball, in size anywhere from that of
a golf to a tennis ball. If played in the snow, a hard frozen snowball
may be used, or a stone will do.
A series of holes is made in the ground, sand, or snow, large enough
to contain the ball. These holes are placed in a straight line, one
beyond the other, about three feet apart, there being as many holes
as there are players. All holes are numbered, corresponding to the
numbers of the players, from one to ten, or whatever the maximum may
be. About ten feet from the first hole, and at right angles to the
row, a straight line is drawn on the ground, behind which the players
stand to throw. The first player stands directly in line with the row
of holes and throws for one of them. This is a toss of the ball. The
ball scores for the player according to the number of the hole in
which it falls, and this number also designates the next player. For
instance, if the ball falls in the third hole, it scores three for the
first player, who at once gives place to Number Three, who in turn has
one throw. Should this ball fall in hole number five, it scores five
for this player, and the fifth player will have the next turn. The
game may be played according to score, the one first scoring
twenty-five or fifty winning; or it may be played according to time,
the one having the highest score at the end of fifteen or twenty
minutes being the winner.
[Illustration diagram: RUSSIAN HOLE BALL]
This is one of the few games that may be adapted to the snow or to the
damp sand of the seashore, though it may be played anywhere out of
doors where holes can be dug.
This game comes from the Russian province of Bessarabia, which
formerly belonged to Turkey.
SCHOOLROOM DODGEBALL
(See _Dodgeball_.)
SCHOOLROOM VOLLEY BALL
_10 to 60 players._
_Gas ball._
The players are divided into two teams, and the players in each team
number consecutively. A net or string is placed across the schoolroom,
dividing it into two equal parts. The top should be six feet from the
floor. The game consists in batting the ball with the hand back and
forth over the string, a point being scored by either team whenever
its opponents allow the ball to touch the floor. The ball may be
batted (not thrown) in any way, but by only one hand at a time.
The players stand in the aisles, each having a required place in which
to stand.
The game starts by No. 1 on either side serving the ball, that is,
tossing it up with the left hand, and batting it with the right,
trying to get the ball over the net or string to the opposing side.
Two fouls in succession (failing to bat the ball over the net) changes
the serve to the other side; otherwise, the server continues until the
ball is returned by the opposite side and not returned by the server's
side. When this happens, the serve changes to No. 1 of team 2, then to
No. 2 of team 1, then to No. 2 of 2, etc.
[Illustration diagram: SCHOOLROOM VOLLEY BALL]
The game continues until all players have served; or the game may be
played with time limits; that is, the team wins which has the highest
score at the end of a ten-or fifteen-minute period.
Every time that the ball touches the floor (not a desk) it scores
against that side on which it falls, counting one point for the
opposing team, irrespective of which team served the ball.
This schoolroom adaptation of Volley Ball was made by Miss
Mabel L. Pray of Toledo, Ohio, and received honorable mention
in a competition for schoolroom games conducted by the Girls'
Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League of New York City
in 1906. The game is here published by kind permission of the
author, and of the Girls' Branch, and of Messrs. A. G. Spalding
& Brothers, publishers of the handbook in which the game first
appeared.
SPUD
_10 to 100 players._
_Playground; gymnasium._
_Any soft ball or bean bag._
This is a combination of Call Ball and Ball Tag, with scoring and
penalties added. It is very popular with boys of almost any age.
The players stand in a group, with one in the center holding the ball.
The center player drops the ball, at the same time calling the name of
one of the other players. All but the one called immediately scatter,
as they are liable to be tagged with the ball. The player called
secures the ball as quickly as possible, and tries to hit one of the
other players with it. He may not run to do this, but must stand where
he secured the ball. If he misses, he secures the ball, stands where
he gets it, and tries again, the other players fleeing from him as
before. If he hits a player, that one immediately secures the ball,
tries to hit some one else with it, the second one hit tries to hit a
third, and so on.
Whenever a player misses hitting another with the ball, it is called a
"spud," and counts one against him. When any player has three spuds
against him, he must stand twenty feet from the other players, with
his back to them, and they each have one shot at him with the ball.
The victim then starts the play again from the center of the ground.
SQUARE BALL
_8 to 32 players._
_Playground; gymnasium._
_Basket ball._
GROUND.--The ground is marked out in one large square with a base at
each corner, and, should there be enough players, with bases at
intervening points along the line of the square.
PLAYERS.--The players are divided into two equal parties, one of
which takes places on the bases at the corners or other points
outlining the square; the other party assembles in the center of the
square and is on the defensive.
OBJECT.--The ball is thrown from one to another of the party on the
bases, always, however, following the lines of the square and not its
diagonals. The chief object of the game, however, is for this outer
party to interrupt this circuit of the ball by suddenly throwing it so
as to hit one of the center players. The object of any center player
who is hit is, in his turn, to hit with the ball any member of the
outer party, who all turn and flee as soon as a center man is hit.
POINTS OF PLAY.--The ball is started at any point among the outer
party or basemen. This party will use considerable finesse in
throwing, such as apparent attempts to throw the ball around the
square, thus misleading the center players as to their intention and
taking them unaware when aiming for the center. The more rapidly the
ball is kept in motion the better. The center party, in their turn,
will find it advisable to scatter considerably, which will diminish
the chances of being hit. They will also avoid proximity to any player
in the outer party who happens to have the ball. The center party will
thus have to be very alert and keep moving considerably, even when the
ball is not directed at them. The ball may be avoided by dodging,
jumping, stooping, or any other maneuver except by leaving the square.
[Illustration diagram: SQUARE BALL]
Whenever a center player is hit by the ball, the outer party are in
danger of being hit in turn, and must all run immediately in any
direction to avoid this. A center player who is hit picks up the ball
as quickly as he can and calls "Halt!" When this call is heard the
fleeing runners must stand still, and the center player, who now holds
the ball, tries to hit one of them with it.
SCORE.--The scoring of the game is done entirely according to whether
the center player hits or misses his opponent in this throw of the
ball after he has called a halt. Every player thus hit scores one for
the center party. Every throw made and missed under these
circumstances scores one for the opponents or outside party. The party
wins which first scores twenty-five.
This game is also played without score, any member of the outer party
hit by a center man being obliged to join the center party. In this
form the game ends when all of the outer players have been so
recruited.
STOOL BALL
_5 to 20 players._
_Playground; gymnasium._
_Hand ball._
A stool, box, or inverted pail is set in an open place, and from ten
to twenty feet away from this a throwing line is drawn. One player is
appointed stool defender, and stands beside the stool. It is well also
to appoint a scorer and linesman, to disqualify any players who cross
the throwing line, and one player to stand behind the stool defender
and return the balls that may go afield. The players, in turn, throw
the ball from the throwing line in an effort to hit the stool. The
stool defender tries to prevent this by batting the ball away with his
hand. If the ball hits the stool, the one who threw it changes places
with the stool defender; if the ball be batted by the defender and
caught by another of the players, the one catching it changes places
with the stool defender. The object of the stool defender should
therefore be not only to hold his place by preventing the ball from
hitting the stool, but to bat it in such a way that the other players
may not catch it.
This game has been very successfully adapted by adding scoring as a
feature of it; in which case any player hitting the stool with the
ball, or catching it when it is returned by the stool defender, scores
one point, while the stool defender scores one for each time he
successfully prevents the ball's hitting the stool. The player wins
who has the highest score at the end of the playing time.
This is one of the old games that has come down through
centuries. Chronicles of Queen Elizabeth's reign tell of the
Earl of Leicester and his train setting forth to play the game,
though it is supposed to have originated with the milkmaids and
their milking stools. In Sussex the game is played with upright
boards instead of a stool, forming a wicket as in Cricket. It
was formerly for women and girls as popular as the game of
Cricket for boys and men, and the rules of play are quite
similar.
STRIDE BALL
(Straddle Club)
_10 to 100 players._
_Playground or gymnasium._
_Any ball; indian club; bean bag._
The players are divided into two or more groups which compete against
each other, each having a ball. Each group stands in single file in
leapfrog position, feet wide apart to form a tunnel through which the
ball is passed. The first players (captains) of each file toe a line
drawn across the ground, and at a signal put the ball in play by
passing it backward between the feet. When players become expert, one
long shot will send the ball to the end of the line. The other players
may strike it to help it along as it passes them if it goes slowly.
Should the ball stop, or go out of bounds at any place, the player
before whom this occurs must put it in play again, starting it between
his feet. When the ball reaches the rear of the file, the last player
runs with it to the front, the line moving backward quickly one place
to make room for him, and immediately rolls the ball back again
between the feet. This is repeated until the "captain" is the last
player. He runs forward with the ball, places it on a marked spot
twenty feet in front of his line, and returns to his place at the head
of the file. The file wins whose captain is first to return to his
original position.
Should there not be space for a point at which to leave the ball, the
game may be finished by the last player holding up the ball when it
reaches the end of the line, or by his running forward with it to the
head of the line.
An Indian club instead of a ball makes a much more skillful game, the
club being shoved over the ground, neck first. It is much more
difficult to guide than a ball, requires greater deliberation for a
long shot, and more easily stops or goes out of bounds. A basket ball
or smaller ball may be used.
This is one of the best games for training self-control under
excitement, as the precision needed for a long shot, especially with
the Indian club, is very difficult under the circumstances.
TEN TRIPS
_6 to 21 players._
_Playground._
_Baseball; tennis ball._
This game is a competition between two or more teams, and consists in
rapid pitching and catching of a base or tennis ball by each team.
A team consists of three players, two of whom stand a long throwing
distance apart (thirty yards or more), with the third player (Number
One) halfway between and on a line with them. Number One (the pitcher)
starts the game on a signal by throwing the ball to one of the end
players (Number Two); he throws it over the head of the pitcher to the
opposite end player (Number Three), who throws it back again to Number
Two, and he makes the last throw, sending it to the center player, or
pitcher, Number One, from whom it started. This is called one trip,
and the pitcher, as he catches it, calls out "One!" or "One trip!" and
immediately begins the next round. The players standing in the
following order, 2, 1, 3, the order of the throwing is thus, 1, 2, 3,
2, 1. Ten trips complete a game.
The competing teams stand in line sideways with the first team, and
the pitchers of all teams start at once on a signal. The team wins
which first completes ten trips. Any number of teams may play at once.
This game is very popular at Williams College, where it
probably originated.
[Illustration: TETHER BALL
_By kind permission reprinted from Spalding's Athletic Library_
]
TETHER BALL
_2 to 8 players._
_Out of doors._
This is one of the most delightful and vigorous games, especially
adapted to small playing space, a plot twenty feet square being enough
for it. The paraphernalia for the game consists of a wooden pole
placed upright, so that it shall stand ten feet above the ground. The
pole must be embedded deeply enough to be perfectly firm during the
strain of the play. It will probably need to be about three feet below
the surface. A pole should measure seven and a half inches in
circumference at the ground, and should taper toward its upper end. A
black stripe should be painted around it six feet above the ground.
To the top of this pole a ball is attached by a stout linen cord or
fishing line. The ball should be preferably a tennis ball, and should
have a netted cover, by means of which it is attached to the cord. No
metal should be used around it in any way. The cover may be knotted or
crocheted of heavy linen cord or fish line. When hanging at rest, the
ball should be seven and a half feet from the top of the pole, and two
and a half feet from the ground. The ball is played upon by tennis
rackets in the hands of two players.
A tether-ball outfit, consisting of pole, ball, cord, and marking
ropes, with staples for the ground as hereinafter specified, may be
had for from three to four dollars, the ball alone, with cover and
cord, costing about seventy-five cents, and the pole from one dollar
to a dollar and a half. It is particularly desirable to have the
specially made ball and cord for this game, but any of the
paraphernalia may be improvised, the pole being cut from a sapling,
and even the bats whittled from strips of thin board about the size of
a shingle.
On the ground around the pole a circle should be drawn three feet in
radius; that is, six feet in diameter. A straight line twenty feet in
length should bisect the circle to separate the territory for the
players. In addition to the circle and line, two spots should be
marked on the ground, from which the ball is served. These should be
at the ends of an imaginary line crossing the first line at right
angles, and should be six feet from the pole, one on each side of the
ground.
Where there are more than two players, they are divided into two
opposing groups, each member of a team or group stepping forward, in
turn, to play with the member of the opposite team. Only these two
play upon the ball during one game.
The game consists, on the part of one player, in trying to wind the
cord with the ball attached around the pole above the line by batting
it with his tennis racket. The opponent tries (1) to interfere and
reverse the action of the ball by batting it in the opposite
direction, and (2) for his part to wind the ball around the pole in
his direction.
The players toss rackets or resort to some other method of choosing
sides of the ground. The game starts with each player on his service
point; the player who lost in the toss for choice of ground has the
first service. The player who has the choice of ground has also the
choice of direction in which to wind the ball.
The ball is then put in play by the server, who may hit the ball but
once. Should he fail to send it across the line with his first serve,
he loses his serve and the opposite player has the ball. The players
have each one strike at the ball in turn. It is sometimes possible to
send the ball so high and with so much force that it will wind around
the pole in one stroke, before the opponent can hit it with his
racket. Of course such strokes should be the endeavor of both sides.
Should a player fail to hit the ball, the opponent has the next turn,
either on service or after the ball is once in play.
Each player must keep entirely on his own side of the dividing line,
both with his feet, his arms, and his racket. Neither player may step
on or over the circle about the pole. If the string winds around the
handle of a racket of one of the players, it is a foul. It is also a
foul for the string to wind about the pole below the black mark, and
counts against the player in whose direction it is wound; that is, if
it winds in the direction in which he is trying to send the ball.
Penalty for transgression of any of the above rules (fouls) is
allowing the opponent a free hit from his service mark. When a ball is
taken for service in this way, if it has to be either wound or
unwound on the pole a half turn, so as to reach the other side, it
shall be unwound.
The game is won when the string has been entirely wound around the
pole above the limit line. When there are but two players, the one
wins who has the majority out of eleven games. Where there are more
than two players, the team wins which has the greatest number of games
to its credit at the end of from two to five rounds, as may be decided
at the opening of the series.
THREE HOLES
_2 to 10 or more players._