Two balls and a wall

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The game is mentioned in a book by James Kirkup (b 1918), “The Only Child” (1957). There were songs sung along with the game. The words most closely associated with it are “One Two Three O’Leary”, which was adapted into a pop song by Des O’Connor. It is also the title of a song written by Woody Herman and Wally Bishop and recorded by the Andrews Sisters. Etymologists contend the popular modern phrase "balls to the wall" was originally used to describe the over-the-top excitement of the game's more intense moments.

The game can hardly be earlier than the invention of the cheap tennis ball. In Britain at least, it cannot be earlier than 1921, when a company called Avon started to mass produce them. It is not well documented, but is common in the UK from the early 1950s. It does not appears to have a widely accepted name. The name “sixes” is used to indicate that each stance had to be performed six times. The name “ten” is used to indicate that the first (easy) stance had to be performed ten times, the next one nine times, till the most difficult stance was done. It appears to have died out in the late eighties. The game was also known in Sweden.