Re-Introducing the Great Pastime of Pushball

The awesomeness you’ve just witnessed was the opening moments of a recent Pushball match. And no, Pushball isn’t some made-up hippie “sport” like Frisbee golf or the Lighter Game. Pushball is the real deal, dating back to a time when all men wore mustaches and monocles, and hiked their britches beyond their bellies:

The game was invented by M. G. Crane, of Newton, Massachusetts, in 1894, and was taken up at Harvard University the next year, but never attained any considerable vogue. In the United Kingdom the first regular game was played at the Crystal Palace in 1902 by teams of eight.

Now, it’s not just all about letting a gigantic ball dominate you, as the video would make it seem. There are rules to Pushball, which are just basic enough to keep it fun and simple, yet structured enough to make it feel like an actual sport. Each side gets 11 players – five forwards, two right and left wingers and two goalies – who attempt to matriculate the ball down a 140 yard field. The goals are basically football uprights. Teams earn five points for pushing the ball under the uprights, and eight for pushing it over them. Hence, Pushball.

Of course, these matches can turn into mini-riots when there is free beer at stake, as was the case in this massive Pushball match at Loyola University in 1933:

(H/T: Deuce of Davenport)

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.