Heard in a movie, The Fourth Protocol:

[Joel S. Berson]

At 3/2/2011 08:53 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>There's also Chinese handball, which was popular in upper Manhattan
>in the 50's and may still be for all I know.  I can't remember the
>details of how it differed from the other (usual?) kind, but the ball
>was the same, just the rules were different.

And, I think, at the same time also in the upper Bronx [note that
even "upper B" requires the "the"].  I think, but am not sure any
more, that the following was called "Chinese handball".  It was
played on a ground (such as a sidewalk) with "boxes" defined by the
lines usual to concrete (left by the forms), against a wall, with a
line of several participants.  The one at the leftmost served, the
player whose box it landed in had to return, and could to any other
box (left or right).  IIRC, the ball had to hit the ground exactly
once before hitting the wall, and then hit the ground at most once
before it was returned.  Failure to return legally meant the player
was "out".  (A ball could be returned after it had hit the wall but
before it hit the ground.  If the ball hit a player after hitting the
wall, that player was "out".  he out player had to go to the end of
the line -- the rightmost box -- and players previously behind him
moved left one box.

If I have some of this wrong, I trust Larry will excuse me.  After
all, I never saw a written book of rules.

And the ball was the same as in all other playground or sidewalk
games -- a Spaldeen.

Joel

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