Growing up in South Philly, the pimple ball was indispensible. You couldn’t play the street games without it: Stickball (aka Fastball), Halfball, Hit the Penny, Chink, Wallball, Wireball, Babies in the Air. I find it difficult to explain to my kids just what a pimple ball was. I wish I had saved one to show them.

The thing I found most interesting about it was when you pressed your index finger hard on the top of the ball and throw it hard releasing it so that it’s trajectory was toward the ground, it would almost float as it sped toward it’s target. I’ve seen guys throw them almost the length of a city block where the ball made the entire trip 6 inches off the ground.