Abe Lincoln - Handball Guy

Yep, you read that right. Abraham Lincoln—the 16th President of the United States, the Savior of our Union, and our first martyred leader—was a handball guy.

With football season fast approaching (and let’s be clear: football has nothing to do with handball), it feels timely to spotlight Lincoln’s athletic side. Because, believe it or not, Lincoln was a jock.

Even he admitted it: “For such an awkward fellow, I am pretty sure-footed. It used to take a pretty dexterous man to throw me.” [1] His legendary strength and wrestling prowess are well documented, but Lincoln’s love of sport wasn’t confined to grappling. He enjoyed running, the standing broad jump, “corner ball” (an old Amish/Mennonite game), and bowling—known then as “rolling ten pins.” These weren’t just idle pastimes; Lincoln saw them as essential for both physical and mental exercise. [2]

Lincoln was just as much in earnest in playing these games as he was when on the stump, making a speech before a jury, in the argument of a cause, or when unraveling knotty law points before the court.

But it was handball—called “fives” in his day, named for the open-handed strike—that became Lincoln's sport of choice in middle age. Played by two teams of two, “fives” was a fast-paced game where players tried to hit a ball out of their opponents’ reach. A contemporary of Lincoln’s, Dr. Preston H. Bailhache, described it:

“It began with one person bouncing the ball on the ground and striking it with his hand toward the wall… and as it bounds back from the wall one of the opponents strikes it in the same manner, so that the ball is kept going back and forth against the wall until someone misses the rebound, which furnishes a very active and exciting contest.” [3]

Their court of choice? A vacant lot in Springfield, Illinois, where the brick walls of the Illinois State Journal newspaper building and the John Carmody store formed the front and back boundaries. The other two sides were enclosed by wooden fences, six to eight feet high, with rough bench seating for spectators and players awaiting their turn. [4]

Court clerk Thomas W.S. Kidd recalled Lincoln’s enthusiasm:

“In 1859, Zimri A. Enos, Esq., Hon. Chas. A. Keyes, E. L. Baker, Esq., then editor of the Journal, William A. Turney, Esq., Clerk of the Supreme Court, and a number of others... could be found [with] Mr. Lincoln vigorously engaged in the sport as though life depended upon it. He would play until nearly exhausted and then take a seat on the rough board benches arranged along the sides for the accommodation of friends and the tired players.” [5]

Kidd also recounted one particularly intense match where both teams were tied when Lincoln and his teammate, Turney, collided while chasing a ball. Both were hurt, but, as Kidd wryly noted, “not so badly as to discourage either from being found in the ‘alley’ the next day.” [5]

Lincoln's Last Return

Many Lincoln historians agree that even during the three-day Republican National Convention in Chicago (May 16–18, 1860), Lincoln played handball daily in the vacant lot beside the Illinois State Journal office—relieving the stress of waiting for news of his nomination to arrive by telegraph. They also confirm that Abraham Lincoln never played handball again after that day. 

So, it turns out, Lincoln didn’t just charge juries or run wars—he also knew how to serve up a mean handball.

This was another anecdote about Abe Lincoln, Storyteller.

Mac

Postscript: 

In October 2004, the Smithsonian Institution displayed what it claimed was Abraham Lincoln’s handball as part of its exhibit “Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers.” The ball—small (about the size of a tennis ball), dirty, and well-worn—came from the Lincoln Home in Springfield, where Lincoln lived with his family from 1844 to 1861. [4]

It was discovered in a dresser drawer during restoration work in the 1950s. Smithsonian officials say it was donated by descendants of one of Lincoln’s handball partners. Whether Lincoln actually used the ball is uncertain—but the possibility is undeniably intriguing. [4]

This is a handball from Abraham Lincoln's time.
(Courtesy of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.)

📚 Works Cited

[1] Burlingame, Michael and John R. Turner Ettlinger, editors. Inside Lincoln’s White House: The Complete Civil War Diary of John Hay (November 8, 1864). p. 244.

[2] "Abraham Lincoln the Athlete". Abraham Lincoln's Classroom: The Lehrman Institute Presents. Retrieved August 24, 2025.

[3] “Lincolniana Notes: Recollections of a Springfield Doctor”, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, June 1954. p. 60.

[4] Hunter, Al. "The Abraham Lincoln Handball". The Weekly View Community Newspaper (Indianapolis, IN) website, September 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2025. 

[5] Thomas W. S. Kidd, “How Abraham Lincoln Received the News of His Nomination for President,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, April-July 1922. pp. 508-509.