Balls - Definition and Overview

For other uses, see Ball (disambiguation).

A ball is a round object that is used most often in sports and games. Balls are usually hollow and spherical but can be other shapes, such as ovoid (only in a few special cases) or solid (as in billiards) and flat (as in ice hockey). In most games using balls, the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked, or thrown by players.

Balls were used in ancient times by the early Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and Romans, and the Aztecs and earlier Mesoamerican peoples.

Popular ball games

Popular games involving some form of ball include:

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Billiards (including snooker, eight ball and pool variations)
• Bocce
• Boules
• Bowling
• Bowls
• Canoe polo
• Cricket
• Crockey
• Croquet
• Dodgeball
• Football:
  • American football
  • Australian rules football
  • Soccer
  • Rugby Football
• Footbag
• Four square
• Golf (see golf ball)
• Handball:
  • American handball
  • Team handball
• Hockey:
  • Field hockey
  • Ice hockey
  • Rink hockey
• Jai alai
• Juggling
• Lacrosse
• Mesoamerican ballgame
• Native American Stickball (Toli)
• Netball
• Pétanque
• Polo
• Quidditch (fictional game)
• Skee ball
• Squash
• Tee Ball
• Tetherball
• Tennis
• Ulama game
• Volleyball
• Water polo