1929 → PHOENIX → EVERYWHERE
Born at the White House. Reawakened in the desert. Now passed from community to community.
THE LONG THROW
A game aboard a ship
President-elect Herbert Hoover encountered “bull-in-the-ring,” a medicine-ball keep-away game, aboard the battleship USS Utah during a goodwill tour of Latin America. He enjoyed games more than conventional exercise.
The White House lawn
White House physician Rear Admiral Joel T. Boone adapted that shipboard game into a vigorous morning workout: teams throwing a weighted medicine ball over a high net on a tennis-like court. Members of Hoover’s cabinet and inner circle joined the regular early-morning sessions.
Reporter William Atherton DuPuy dubbed it “Hoover-ball” in 1931. The name stuck.
Vanished, then revived
After Hoover left office, the game largely disappeared. Decades later, his birthplace of West Branch, Iowa, brought it back. The Hoover Presidential Foundation has organized national championship play since 1988, keeping the original sport alive.
A Phoenix men’s group
Demaris Parker discovered Hooverball while in San Diego and brought the game home to Phoenix. Sean Daly helped gather the first group of players, turning an intriguing new workout into a shared ritual. It quickly became a container for competition, expression, accountability, and belonging.
Quentin Hick and the growing crew helped shape a more dynamic modern game. HOOV NATION formed around a simple conviction: the sport could help people find confidence in their bodies and closeness in community.
A growing Nation
From Phoenix, groups have begun taking shape in Idaho, Washington, Montana, St. Petersburg, and Connecticut. Every chapter starts the same way: one person invites a few good humans to move together.
We are still early. That is the opportunity.
Historical references
Hoover Presidential Foundation: History of Hooverball ↗National Park Service: Hooverball ↗