Handball in the United States
Introduction '''Handball in the United States''' is a minor sport. 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.A common popular sport in European countries, handball is seldom seen in the United States. 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. 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. 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.It is governed by USA Team Handball, which is funded in part by the U.S. Olympic Committee.Previously, the governing body was the United States Team Handball Federation, but was revoked of its governing duties by the United States Olympic Committee.Handball is starting to be recognized by a few notable universities, such as West Point, The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. 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 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.SeasonLeagueCupTeams1929Not heldGerman Sport Club of Elizabeth1929-30First German Sport Club of BrooklynFirst German Sport Club of Brooklyn?1930-31Newark TV?1931-32Newark TV? ?1932-33Not held? ?1933-34First German Sport Club of Brooklyn? ?1934-35Newark TV? ?1935-36Cake Baker's Sport Club??1936-37?? ?1937-38Cake Baker's Sport Club? ?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.In 1942 the Office of Alien Property Custodian seized all records of the German American Athletic Union.After the 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 found. The Elizabeth S.C. won at least all season until 1967.In 1962 nine teams from New York and New Jersey played in that league as a winter conditioner for soccer. In 1963 already 20 teams with 200 players played handball.
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.YearBoysGirlsLeagueCupLeagueCup2017StanbridgeLycée FrançaisNo league or Cupfor the Girls2018Bret HarteBret Harte2019Bret HarteCastillero2020 No championships due to Covid2021Bret HarteBret Harte–Bret Harte2022Bret Harte Bret HarteBret HarteCurrent members of the Youth Team Handball Middle School League:*Bret Harte Middle School (Boys & Girls)*Castillero Middle School (Boys & Girls)*Stanbridge Academy*Sterne School*John Muir Middle SchoolPast members of the Youth Team Handball Middle School League:* Lycée Français de San Francisco*San Francisco CalHeat THC
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.YearLeagueCup2016SterneSterne2017SterneSterne2018Lycée FrançaisLycée Français 12019LelandLeland2020No championship due to Covid2021Cali Kings HandballCali Kings Handball2022Pioneer: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.Current members of the Youth Team Handball High School League:*Cali Kings Handball*Pioneer High School*SF CalHeat*Sterne SchoolPast members of the Youth Team Handball High School League:*Bayhill High School*Leland High School* Compass High School* Lycée Français de San Francisco===Montgomery County, Maryland===The MCPS Athletics offers team handball as corollary sports.SeasonCountyDivision2012-13noneClarksburg (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)2018-19Walt WhitmanSherwood (D-1)Blair (D-2)2019-20BlairClarksburg (D-1)Sherwood (D-2)2020–21No championship due to Covid2021-22Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman (D-1)2022–23WoottonSingle DivisionCurrent members of the MCPS handball:*Clarksburg High School*Sherwood High School*Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School*Montgomery Blair High School*Walt Whitman High SchoolFormer members of the MCPS handball:*Watkins Mill High School*Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School*Northwest High School*Seneca Valley High School*Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School*Walter Johnson High School
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. 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.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. )In 2020, former USA Team Handball CEO Barry Siff stated that plans were in development to create an American professional team handball league. 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, and perhaps create multisports clubs like FC Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain.
See also * United States men's national handball team* United States women's national handball team
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