Trapball was once played widely in England, Scotland,
Wales, Ireland, and France.What distinguished trapball
and its variants from other batting games is that the
ball was not pitched by a player, but was propelled into
the air either by a mechanical device—the “trap”—or
by some other special procedure. The ball was then batted into play. Some versions of the game were scored
and competitive, with team players taking turns batting and fielding.
Trapball was played in the British Isles during
the 14th century. However, since records of it refer to
one of the most involved mechanical versions of the
game, less sophisticated forms were probably played
at an earlier time. Games were often associated with
Christian fairs and festivals that were held around
Easter, especially Shrove Tuesday, Easter Monday, and
Whitsuntide. The specific origins of trapball remain
unknown.
Trapball required a “trap,” a wooden device,
mounted on a stand, shaped somewhat like a shoe with
the “heel” portion hollowed out and a lever fixed into it
on which the ball rested. One end of the lever extended
out of and slightly above the “shoe”itself.When smartly
struck by the bat, the level catapulted the ball—usually
a hard wooden knot an inch or two in diameter—out
of the trap where it could then be batted out into the
field by the same player. The bat itself was often a broad
and flat, almost like a racket, but it was sometimes
round and only an inch and one-half in diameter.
Trapball’s only possible modern equivalents are devices that lob tennis balls or baseballs at players for
practice in returning or batting, and these are intended
for solo, not team, play. The game has otherwise not
survived.
—ALAN TREVITHICK