This may have just been the ramblings of a hugely hopeful Irishman but back in 1969, The Irish Press made a bold prediction that handball could be the first sport played on the moon.
A clipping from 1 August 1969 has been uncovered by rollouthandball.com which discusses how astronauts Michael Collins (not the Irish fella), Thomas Stafford and John Young were huge fans of the sport and reveals that Collins prepared for the first moon landing by playing a match just before he left.
It reads:
The most interesting news for handballers in recent times nas been the confirmation that many of the men involved in recent moon-shots have a dedicated interest in handball..
Thomas Stafford and John Young of Apollo 10 fame are quite accomplished players and would rank in the top flight of the Big City competitors.
Michael Collins of the Apollo n historic flight is perhaps the best of the three. ‘
He is the champion handballer at the Houston Base and makes no secret of the fact that handball is his favourite game.
His last recreational exercise prior. to blast-off was a rigid handballing work-out in the court. As a result of the handball prowess shown by the spacemen those with a serious interest in the game, are not beyond pointing out that when the American’s decide to introduce sport to the moon, there is no reason to believe that it will not be handball.
Back in our own earthy courts this week-end there is a comparative lull…
Image: rollouthandball.com
