Joseph Sobek (April 5, 1918 – March 27, 1998) was an American professional tennis and handball player, who invented
racquetball
Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velo ...
in 1949; originally called "paddle rackets".
[Joseph Sobek, the Inventor Of Racquetball, Dies at 79;By FRANK LITSKY;Published: March 31, 1998](_blank)
/ref>[Orlando Sentinel;OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - DEATHS;March 29, 1998](_blank)
/ref> Sobek founded the National Paddle Rackets Association in 1952 and was the first person ever to be inducted into the Racquetball Hall of Fame.Racquetball Hall of Fame;Inductees
/ref>
References
1918 births
1998 deaths
American racquetball players
Sports inventors and innovators
20th-century American inventors
YMCA leaders
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