Sport: Cop. v. Fireman

Nobody knows how many Americans play handball (rough guess: 1,000,000) because all the game really needs is a hard rubber ball and a back fence. Last week the pick of U.S. players, including back-fence alumni as well as veteran club players, met in Chicago for the U.S. Handball Association Championship.

There was not much doubt about who the finalists would be. Top-seeded was Defending Champion Bob Brady, 30, a muscular (5 ft 11 in., 178 Ibs.) San Francisco cop, who learned his handball at Central High School in Butte, Mont. Seeded No. 2 was stocky (5 ft. 8 in., 173 Ibs.) Brooklyn Fireman Vic Hershkowitz, 35, who won his first tournament at Coney Island in 1938. Since then, Hershkowitz has won 14 national titles, including (in 1952) the one-three-and four-wall singles.

Fireman Hershkowitz, slowing down a bit at 35, had a particular incentive for winning: no one in handball history has ever won more than 14 nationals. A sharp hitter with both gloved hands, Hershkowitz counted on his fast, hopping serve. Slam-Banger Brady ("I hit the ball awful hard") relied on his overhead kill shots.

Challenger Hershkowitz, who manages to play three days a week all year long between fire-fighting duties, reached the final round without the loss of a game. Defending Champion Brady, who builds himself up for championship events by taking on two opponents at a time, lost only one game on his way to the final. With some 400 handball fans crammed around the glass-enclosed court, the Brooklyn fireman and the San Francisco cop had it out. The winner (21-15, 21-18) and champion for the 15th time: Fireman Hershkowitz.