Sport in Argentina in the 1920s – here players are kitted out in white sportswear for a doubles game of pelota a paleta. This game is on an unusual court and played with a hard leather ball and using wooden paletas (rackets, paddles or bats as shown here). Their footwear is very flimsy compared with trainers worn today. These players are at the Club Sportivo Barracas, a sports club in the barrio of Barracas, Buenos Aires. Pelota a paleta is a variant of the Basque game pelota. This photograph is from a print from a scrapbook/photo album assembled in the 1940s/50s – a vintage 1920s photograph.
Sport in Argentina in the 1920s – here players are kitted out in their white sportswear for a game of pelota a paleta. This game is on an unusual court and this is a men’s doubles match played with a hard leather ball and using wooden paletas (rackets, paddles or bats as shown here). Their footwear is very flimsy compared with trainers worn in today’s sporting world. These players are at the Club Sportivo Barracas, a sports club located in the barrio of Barracas in Buenos Aires. Club Sportivo Barracas was founded in 1913 as a rowing club, nevertheless it is mostly known for its football activities nowadays. Pelota a paleta is a variant of the Basque game pelota (Basque: pilota, Spanish: pelota vasca, French: pelote basque) and covers a variety of court sports hitting a ball using the hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (frontis or fronton) or traditionally, with two teams facing each other separated by a line on the ground or a net. This photograph is from a print from a scrapbook/photo album assembled in the 1940s/50s by an Argentinian sports enthusiast who collected old photographs and newspaper cuttings. Handwritten captions were added to the photos. This image is from a relatively small original and will look soft if used at too large a size – a vintage 1920s photograph.
Size: 3780px × 2772px
Location: Club Sportivo Barracas, Barracas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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