I grew up in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn (13th Ave, and 48th St.)in the 70’s and our ball of choice was the “Spaldeen” given that we could play handball, stickball, or baseball with a wooden bat. The pinkie was too heavy and mushy and didn’t hit as well (or as far) when playing stick or baseball. We however did use the pinkie for playing punchball, given that it was softer on our knuckles. The Spaldeen for us was the “King of Back Alley Ball”