As a kid growing up in the Bronx, stickball is nothing new to me. Our field was our narrow, one-way street. (As I remember, the distance from first to second was quite a distance, but guys on first and third were practically right next to one another.)
When I moved to Portland, Maine… a state overrun by soccer and basketball.. I thought stickball days would remain a memory from the
past…BUT…
The other day while in a Shaw’s supermarket in Scarborough, Maine, I discovered they were selling both the rubber Spaulding balls and… Spaulding stickball bats. The bats were somewhat thicker than the broom handle I was used to as a kid, but for $7 ($2 for the ball, and $5 for the bat!) I was armed and ready to start playing stickball again!