You Think This Is Just a Game?
One U.S. President invented a sport.
Howdy! It’s Joey, back with more Fun Fact Friyay. Get your stretches in, because we’re about to play a game (or at least learn about one).
While in the White House, President Herbert Hoover invented a sport called Hoover-Ball.
If you’re outside of America, this is just another Friday for you. But my fellow Americans are celebrating the 249th birthday of the United States.
“Celebrating” might be a loose term, given the state of, well…just about everything. It’s also pouring rain outside and the neighborhood parade is in danger of not happening at all. It’s pure, unfiltered chaos.
Should you also be stuck inside today, perhaps you could try your hand at learning a new sport. In high school, I remember my teacher introducing us to pickleball. It felt like a charming distraction.
“What a silly little game!” I thought as I destroyed another opponent.
Now look at it. You can barely walk outside without tripping over a pickleball court. There are leagues and organizations and meetups and all kinds of fanfare for the sport.
We also learned about Sepak Takraw, which is essentially volleyball on a tennis court, but you can only use your feet. As that description might hint at, it is very difficult. Give it a try someday!
And of course, there’s Calvinball, where the only rule is that you can’t play it the same way twice.
Herbert Hoover is probably best known for being the president when the United States went into the Great Depression in 1929. He certainly didn’t do much to aid the economy, but he at least took the time to invent a new sport while serving the country.
Hoover-Ball is a combination of tennis and volleyball and played with a medicine ball. Hoover did not come up with the name (which would have been quite egotistical); that was given by William Atherton DuPuy, a reporter for the New York Times Magazine.
The sport had its beginnings in 1928. Hoover, who had recently won the presidential election, took a trip to South America. He was returning to the U.S. on a battleship called Utah and watched games of bull-in-the-ring being played. He liked the idea of people hoisting a heavy ball back and forth, and this moment became the inspiration for Hoover-Ball.
Once Hoover was in office, at 7 a.m. every morning, a group of four to 18 VIPs would meet on the White House’s south lawn to indulge in a lil’ Hoover-Ball. These folks were called the “Medicine Ball Cabinet,” a wonderful play on words.
The Hoover Presidential Foundation continues hosting annual Hoover-Ball National Championship contests each August. Watch a delightfully homemade video about how to play below. See you out on the Hoover-Ball courts!