History and Rules of Hoover-Ball

It was once the most popular sport at the White House, played by the President, Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members and other high government officials. But when Herbert Hoover left the White House in 1933, Hoover-ball vanished from the American sporting scene.

A combination of tennis, volleyball and medicine ball, Hoover-ball was invented, developed and perfected by White House physician Admiral Joel T. Boone to keep Hoover physically fit. "It required less skill than tennis, was faster and more vigorous, and therefore gave more exercise in a short time," Hoover wrote in his Memoirs.

"It is more strenuous than either boxing, wrestling or football," wrote Will Irwin, a friend of Hoover's, in a 1931 article "The President Watches His Waistline" in Physical Culture magazine. "It has the virtue of getting at nearly every muscle in the body.

Hoover-ball was played by teams of 2-4 players with a six-pound medicine ball over a net eight feet high on a court similar to one used for tennis. The game was scored exactly like tennis, and played in similar fashion. The server throws the ball. The opponent must catch it on the fly and immediately return it, attempting to put it where it cannot be reached and returned. The side that misses the ball or throws it out of bounds loses the point.

"Stopping a six-pound ball with steam back of it, returning it with similar steam, is not pink-tea stuff," DuPuy wrote. "Dr. Boone estimates that as much beneficial exercise is obtained from half an hour of it (Hoover-ball) as from three times as much tennis or six times as much golf."

Hoover-ball Rules

The court is 66 feet by 30 feet. A 4-6 pound medicine ball and 8-foot volleyball net are used. Teams consist of 2-4 players. (For the national championships, 3-player teams will be used. Each team may have one or two substitutes.) Scoring is exactly like tennis: love-15-30-40-(deuce, ad-in, ad-out)-game. Teams play best-of-five or best-of-seven games. Points are scored when a team: fails to catch the return, fails to return the ball across the net, returns the ball out of bounds, fails to return the ball to the proper court area. The ball is served from the back line. The serve is rotated among one team until the game is won. Teams alternate serving after each game. Teams change courts after every two games. The ball must be caught on the fly and immediately returned from the point it was caught. There is no running with the ball or passing to teammates. Each team's court is divided in half. A ball caught in the front half of your court must be returned to the back half of your opponent's court. This prevents spiking. If the ball doesn't reach the back court, the opponent is awarded the point. Balls caught must be played. The mid-court line is part of the front court. A ball that hits the out-of-bounds line is a good return. A player who catches the ball out-of-bounds by the force of the ball, may return in-bounds before the return. A ball that hits the net on its way over is a live ball. (If it was thrown from the front court, it must reach the opponent's back court to be good.) Teams may substitute freely at dead ball situations. Good sportsmanship is required. Points in question should be played over. For women's play... Women serve from the mid-court line. Women may pass once before a return. Women may return the ball to any area of the opponent's court.