Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium by Jessie Hubbell Bancroft (top novels of all time .txt) 📕

1. Medicine ball 7. Playground ball 2. Basket ball 8. Baseball (outdoor) 3. Volley ball 9. Tennis ball 4. Association and Soccer football (round) 10. Handball 5. Intercollegiate and Rugby football (prolate spheroid)   11. Handball (official American, leather covered) 6. Gas ball 12. Golf ball

BALLS AND BEAN BAGS SPECIFICATIONS FOR BALLS, BEAN BAGS, MARKING GROUNDS, ETC.

BALLOONS.—Gas balloons have been found very useful for quite a large class of games, and are specially suitable for use in the schoolroom or parlor, though they may also be used out of doors. The balloons are the regular toy balloons used by children, and are preferably ten or twelve inches in diameter when inflated, though smaller ones may be used. In games where two balloons are used it is desirable that they be of different colors, to distinguish which belongs to each team. When the gas in a balloon is exhausted, if it be not convenient to refill the rubber bag with gas, it may be filled with the breath, and will be found still to float sufficiently in the air for purposes of the game, though of course the gas-filled balloons with their tendency to rise are superior.

BASEBALL (See also Indoor Baseball).—Baseballs are hard and preferably leather covered. The required ball for the National Association of Baseball Leagues is not less than 5 nor more than 5-1/4 ounces in weight, and measures not less than 9 nor more than 9-1/4 inches in circumference. A slightly smaller ball is used in junior play; that is, for boys under sixteen. The best construction of baseballs is that in which there is a rubber center wound with woolen yarn, the outside covering being of white horsehide. Good balls cost from fifty cents to $1.50 each, but baseballs may be had at five cents each.

BASKET BALL.—Basket balls are comparatively large, round, "laced" balls; that is, they consist of a rubber bladder inserted in a leather case; the bladder is inflated by means of a hand or foot pump; after it is placed inside of the leather cover the opening in the cover is laced together. The official ball prescribed by the Amateur Athletic Union and the Young Men's Christian Association Athletic League of North America calls for one that measures, when inflated, not less than 30 nor more than 32 inches in circumference; the limit of variableness to be not more than 1/4 inch in three diameters; the weight to be not less than 18 nor more than 20 ounces; the ball when ready for use to be tightly inflated and so laced that it cannot be held by the lacing. The best basket balls cost about $6 each.

BEAN BAGS (See also Oat Sacks).—Bean bags are especially useful for tossing games with little children and for use in the schoolroom, where a ball is not easily recovered if dropped; but many bean-bag games are of great interest even to adult players and are suitable for almost any conditions,—playground, parlor, or gymnasium. Bean bags should be made of heavy, closely woven material, such as ticking, awning, duck, or denim, and should be from 6 to 12 inches square when finished. They are stitched around the outer edge (except for a small length through which the beans are inserted). The bag should then be turned and stitched a second time. Hand sewing is preferable, as often better able to withstand the strain put upon it. The bag is filled with dried beans or peas. A bag 6 inches square should contain 1/2 pound of these. A larger bag may contain a few more, but the half-pound weight is good for any sized bag. For little children a 6 or 8 inch bag is very good. It is desirable to have an equipment of bags made of two different colors, half of the bags, for instance, being red and the other half blue; or some of striped material and others of plain. This aids in distinguishing the bags that belong to opposing teams or groups of players. It is easy to improvise a substitute for bean bags under almost any conditions. The writer has known some very good substitutes to be made by placing dried leaves in a square of cloth, gathering up the corners and tying them with a string. Bean bags 7 inches square may be purchased for about $2 per dozen.

For adults, especially for men, the oat sacks make a very interesting implement for play, the weight making them a good substitute for medicine balls. (See Oat Sacks.)

CRICKET BALL.—This is the same as a hockey ball, but red instead of white. The official specifications (Marylebone Club) are identical with those of the American baseball, except for 1/2 ounce heavier weight. They call for a ball weighing not less than 5-1/2 ounces, nor more than 5-3/4, with circumference not less than 9 inches nor more than 9-1/4. The construction and appearance differ from baseballs, the cricket balls being of heavy rubber, usually, but not invariably, covered with leather, which is sometimes enameled. The leather is put on in even hemispheres instead of in shaped pieces, as for a baseball. Cost, $1.50 to $2 each.

FOOTBALL.—Official footballs are "laced" balls; that is, they consist of a rubber bladder, which is inflated and inserted in a leather casing which is then laced firmly to close the opening. Two shapes of balls—round, and so-called "oval"—are official for different organizations. The round ball is prescribed for the "Association" games (American Football Association) and for Soccer, the circumference of the ball to be not less than 27 inches, nor more than 28. The prolate spheroid ("oval") ball is prescribed by the Intercollegiate and Rugby Associations of America, diameters about 9-1/4 × 6-1/4 in. The cost of best quality balls of both shapes is $5, and from that down to $1. Cheaper balls may be had (to substitute for any laced leather balls) made of sealed rubber, or to be inflated like a water polo ball, some incased in duck, others without casing.

GAS BALL.—A gas ball is a sealed rubber ball filled with gas and very light in weight, generally used by little children. These are extremely useful for the schoolroom, where it is desirable to avoid damage from the hitting of objects by a hard ball, and where it facilitates play to keep the ball in the air, as it is difficult to locate balls that roll on the floor. Gas balls measure from 4 to 6 inches in diameter, and cost from ten to forty cents each.

GOLF BALL.—Golf balls are made of gutta percha, painted white. The interior construction varies. The surface is made uneven with lines, dots, or dimples, to give greater buoyancy to the strokes. Size, about 1-5/8 inches in diameter. Cost, from $2 to $9 per dozen.

HANDBALL.—The term "handball" is generally used to designate any ball that can be caught easily in one hand, as distinguished from larger balls, such as basket, foot, and volley balls. Technically, the term "handball" applies to the balls used in the game of Handball.

In selecting a ball for general games, including Handball Drills as herein given, it is desirable to have one slightly larger than for the official game and to get one with considerable resiliency; that is, a ball that will rebound from a hard floor to a height of about 3 feet when dropped from a height of about 6 feet. A good ball for this purpose will measure about 2-1/4 inches in diameter and weigh 2-1/2 ounces. They are of hollow rubber, sealed. Such balls will cost about $5 per dozen. For children's play of course cheaper balls can be had.

Official Handballs used for the game of Handball differ somewhat in America and Ireland, where this is the national game. The American balls are made both of rubber and leather. The specifications for the balls of the Amateur Athletic Union of America call for a ball measuring 1-7/8 inches in diameter, with a weight of 1-5/8 ounces.

The Irish official handball is smaller and heavier than that of America and is generally made of rubber. The official ball called for by the Gaelic Athletic Association of Ireland is hard, covered with sheepskin or any other leather, and is not less than 1-1/2 ounces nor more than 1-3/4 ounces in weight. Handballs suitable for the game of that name may be had of leather and rubber, ranging in price from twenty-five cents to $1 each.

HOCKEY BALL.—Field Hockey is played with the same kind of ball as Cricket, but white instead of red. This is usually but not invariably covered with white leather, the latter sometimes enameled, put on in even hemispheres instead of in shaped pieces like the covering of a baseball. The dimensions are the same as for a baseball but the weight usually about 1/2 ounce greater. Field Hockey balls measure 9 inches in circumference and weigh 5-1/2 ounces. The official rules of the American Field Hockey Association specify merely "an ordinary cricket ball painted white." Hockey balls cost from $1 to $2.75 each; practice balls of solid rubber, fifty cents.

Ice Hockey is played with a "puck," solidly cylindrical in shape and smaller than the ring for Ring Hockey. The official specifications for the American Amateur Hockey League require a puck of vulcanized rubber one inch thick throughout, 3 inches in diameter, weight not less than 7-6/16 ounces nor more than 7-9/16 ounces. These cost fifty cents; practice pucks, twenty-five cents.

Ring Hockey or Indoor Hockey is played indoors with a ring of flexible rubber, 5 inches in diameter, with a 3-inch hole through