In order to settle down the origins of the handball, the investigators try to look for similarities and meeting points with own games of the Greeks and the Romans. Although to anybody he escapes, however, that the agility of the man with its hands could take to him already in the first known civilizations to use them for its games. It is a incongruencia to affirm that there he was where the handball was born. But in a point they are almost all in agreement: the handball, so and as is understood now, been a sport really very young, of the first quarter of our century.

In any case, also it is certain that in old Greece the "game of Uranian" existed in which the ball of measures was used similar to an apple, that had to be maintained in the air. In one of fundamental books of classic Literature, the Odyssey, Homero speak of this game and explain how two of their protagonists sent the ball to the air in the direction of clouds and they took it jumping, before their feet returned to step on the ground. Some scenes of this type of diversion were found in the wall of Athens in 1926.

Later, also between the Romans the doctor Soft Claudius had advised to his patients the practice of the "Harpaston", a modality that was made with a ball and the hands. That took place around years 150 to of C. Much more advanced, already in the Average Age, the trovador Walter Von der Vogelwide also described the "game of the ball", that consisted of catching the ball in flight of a form similar to as the players go now of handball. He was practiced mainly in the Court and the trovadores baptized it like the "First Game of Summer". Anyway, it was a not structured sport practice, without no type standard nor of norms.

These are the basic antecedents that were used later for the creation as a called sport "handball", that is practicing at the moment in more than 100 countries of the entire world, with around a quarter of million equipment and more than 5 million players.

The modern origins of the handball date from end of century XIX, when it was used as complement to train and to prepare the gymnasts. In 1982, a professor of gymnastic, Konrad Koch, created "raffballspied", with characteristics very similar to the present handball. In this time, in Czechoslovakia a game practiced in the schools in which each equipment was formed by seven players. "hazena" was denominated and its first regulation appeared in 1905.

Many historians assure that the origin of the present handball is in Germany. But looking for concrete data we were with several versions, with important points of discrepancy. In any case, it seems clear that year 1848, in an institute of average education of Denmark, a professor of gymnastics, Holger Nielsen, devised a sport to which called "haandbold", giving him to rules and a system of game. Was to put goals in one portería, of a similar way to soccer, but handling the ball with the hands. Few years later this sport was introduced in Sweden, Karlskrona concretely, through G. Wallstrom. It was year 1910.

More improbable it seems the South American version, according to which the Uruguayan professor of gymnastics Antonio Valera made in 1914 a basketball mixture, rugby and soccer, that practiced in some zones of the Argentine coast and which was made a first official encounter in the stage of Montevideo in 1916. This strange game was seen, according to the same version, by sailors Germans who were interested in him and when concluding the war transferred Germany, where would finish polishing until becoming the present handball.

Anyway everything aims at a professor Berliner of physical education, Max Heiser, that is recognized like the true and legitimate "father" of this sport modality. The historians German assure that Heiser was inspired by some sports that already practiced like "raffbold", "volkerball" and "koreball", for the creation of one new one: "torball". One gambled in a room or outdoors (concretely it played with his students in one of the main avenues of Berlin), on a land of 40 ms by 20 and a medicinal ball or one of soccer was used. With the ball in the hand it was not possible to be run more than three seconds; the zone was located to 4 ms and portería measured 2,50 by 2 ms.

Heiser devised east game to occupy the free short whiles of the workers of the Siemens company.
Consequently, the quarrels and the hand-to-hand combat were not allowed. The rules were not, yet, excessively clear and, although it got to have a good number of medical instructors, ended up later dying just a short time. But "torball" left its seed. The invention of Heiden in 1915 was gathered years later by the German professor Carl Schelenz and served as it bases of which it called "handbold". The contribution of Schelenz, later trainer of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, was decisive because it established norms, it modified the previous ones and it took the game to the football grounds with identical rules to those of this one with the difference of which it gambled with the hands.

Between most outstanding it was the fact that the new sport had to gamble with 11 components and that the zone moved to the 11 ms. Porterías was identical to those of soccer. "dribling" was also introduced and the fight by the possession of the ball, which offered more spectacle and dynamism.

The new game had also been designed so that the men practiced. And perhaps for that reason it found more supports for his future development. The same Secretary General of the Association the International of Soccer in 1912, the Hirschmann German, made an effort in developing the handball. In his beginnings it was left in the Federation the International of Athletics enrolled. Schelenz presented the handball in Europe in 1919. A year later, Carl Diem, director of the German School of Physical education and president of Liga de Atletismo de Brandedurg, it gave officiality in his country to this sport and it introduced it in the Navy, with which soon it acquired a great development in Germany.

After that whole he was very fast. In 1926 the congress of the Federation the International of Athletics Amateur, reunited in Is it, named a commission in charge to establish a clear and concise regulation. The 11 of August of 1927, in Amsterdan, the handball committee admitted of official form, the regulation that was being used in Germany for this sport that continued practicing with 11 players. In the 25 session of the Olympic Committee the International, Monaco 1927, took another very important step when the inclusion in the Olympic program was asked for for the first time.