Pushball is a team sport that is played with a large ball in which the objective is to push a large inflated ball through the opponent’s goalposts. The sport was invented in 1891 by M. G. Crane of Newton, Massachusetts. A similar sport called Cage Ball was played at Springfield College Massachusetts.
The game is played on a field that is about 140 yards long and 50 yards wide. The goals posts at both ends consist of two upright posts that are 18 feet high and 20 feet apart, with a crossbar seven feet from the ground. The ball used is 6ft in diameter and weighs 50lbs.
A match is played between two teams with 11 players per team. Two players are designated as goalkeepers, two each play the left-wing and the right wing positions, and five players play the forward position.
The objective of the sport is to score as many points as possible by, either pushing the ball through the goalposts under the crossbar; which accounts for five points, or throwing the ball over the crossbar; which accounts for eight points. If the ball is pushed behind the goal line but not through the posts, it accounts for two points. A match is played for two periods, and the team with the most points at the end is the winner.
Similar Sports
- Bladderball — a traditional game played between 1954-1982 at Yale University. The game resembled other forms of mob football in which any number of people can be a part in each team, and the only objective of the sport was to gain possession of the large inflated leather ball by any means necessary.
- Horse Soccer — a variation of pushball, a team sport where an inflated ball is driven through a goal while riding a horse.
- Zorb Football — a team sport that was derived from association football (soccer) in which players are encased in an inflated bubble called a Zorb.
- Kin-Ball — played with three teams and a large inflated ball.
- Circle Rules Football — played on a circular field with one central goal in which teams score in opposing directions using a large inflated yoga ball.
Related Pages
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports