The history of Raquetball

            
             Racquetball was invented in 1949 by Joseph George Sobek in Bridgeport, Connecticut on a handball court. It started when Sobek was unhappy with the indoor racquet sports then available and decided to create a new game that would get his heart rate up and would also be easy to learn. He took the basics of handball and squash and modified it to his new game he called "paddle racquets" now currently known as racquetball. He then single-handedly promoted the sport and founded the Paddle Rackets Association to generate interest in new invention. Then a few years later a group of racquetball players formed an association under the direction of Robert Kendler who headed the U.S. Handball Association, in 1968 and the sport took off. Soon thereafter Sobek took himself out of the picture and returned to his work as a tennis professional. .
             In the early 70's, racquetball clubs could be found in almost every state while the sport enjoyed a steady and quick rise in acceptance and popularity. The late 70's and early 80's saw racquetball become one of the fastest growing sports in America as thousands of new racquetball courts were built to satisfy the demand all across the continental U.S. The sport grew very quickly and reached its peak for a moment in the mid-80's and started to decline in interest, but by 1987 the decline leveled off and racquetball regained a steady, growth rate. Now a days there are over 9.5 million racquetball players in 91 different countries around the world who plays the sport of racquetball. Internationally, the sport has attained great heights in its short history with World Championships held bi-annually since 1981, the addition of five International Olympic Committee approved events and its debut as a Pan American Games Sport in 1995. .
             The racquetball population is dominated by a younger generation of participants, with 59.4% of players falling in the 12-34 age category.