HANDBALL : Warfield Proves He’s a Winning Wallbanger

Larry Warfield of Chatsworth spends much of his time staring at four walls. The kicker here is, he likes it. And it’s a safe bet that if any wise guy ever characterizes Warfield as off the wall, he wouldn’t view it as an insult.

Warfield teamed with Don Chamberlain of San Diego to win the team championship in the division for 35- to 40-year-olds at the U.S. National Indoor Handball Championships two weeks ago in Baltimore.

After years of victories in local events--including two state championships--the win gave Warfield his first national title.

When he’s not driving a forklift truck during the day, Warfield can be found bopping a few balls off the walls of a local court. Sometimes, when he’s on the court, time passes by as quickly as an overhand volley.

“You could see this game as a real cause of divorce. It takes up so much time,” he said.

Warfield and Chamberlain needed three sets to defeat Don Duarte of San Diego and Larry Smith of Anaheim. After winning the first, 21-14, the team lost the second, 21-16. In the third--where the first team to score 11 points wins--Warfield and Chamberlain scored an 11-4 win.

“I think it actually went better than we expected,” Warfield said. “In the finals, those guys really gave us a battle.”