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2004 BlueBall 3-Wall

Biggest BlueBall

Attendance records were shattered at the 5th Annual BlueBall 3-Wall Tournament, held at noon on January 1, 2004 at the 3-wall courts at Veterans' Park in Green Township.
Jim Krailler, Scott Walker, Bob Banta, Mike Reilly, Jerry Shaughnessy, Steve Kehoe, Ralph Weil, David Kent, Bob Burkitt and Chris Lazarovski
Bob Burkitt launched the tournament by going over the rules, telling the crowd that the green "ROC" ball is again the official ball of the BlueBall Tournament. In the photo above, Burkitt can only snicker when Ralph asks "Hey! How come you call this the BlueBall tournament when the ball's green?"
Though Burkitt saw limited action because of a nagging injury, he did manage to keep his "perfect attendance" BlueBall record in tact. After a considerable warm-up, the first round of play featured two doubles matches. At this point, the sun was out and the temperature was in the upper 40's, making conditions ideal for a January 3-wall match. In addition to the sun, a thermos of hot water helped keep balls warm and supple.	Krailler keeps his balls warm
Action on the courts at the 2004 BlueBall
The photo above shows the peak of the 2004 BlueBall action.. Not to mention the sartorial splendor of the event, which is just as important as the final scores. In the left court, note Mike Reilly's (2nd from left) winter wardrobe, looking suspiciously like his summer wardrobe. And that's Scott Walker deep in the backcourt wearing his pajama bottoms. The right court features the more traditional wintertime "layered look" with Chris Lazarovski, masquerading as "the man in black," in sharp contrast to Jerry Shaughnessy's "bright yellow with jeans" attire.
Action on the courts at the 2004 BlueBall	Play continued for over two hours, even though the sunshine disappeared after the first hour. Finally, in the spirit of all New Year's celebrations (any handball gathering) players popped the cork (ring tab) on a bottle of bubbly (can of Bud) and drank a toast (or three) to the new year. All in all, the 2004 BlueBall tournament was a great event, a chance for dedicated 3-wallers to start the New Year right.

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