I played a game similiar…
I played a game similiar to wire ball called “Light Ball”. The object of the game was to try to hit the light bulb underneath the street light. The rules were almost the same as the wire ball rules. The main difference was that the type of hit(single,double and triple) was determined by how far away the ball travelled from the light(if you missed the light bulb).We used to use cars for distance. If the ball landed uncaught by the first car it was a single,second car double and the third car a triple. If you hit the under side the light(were the bulb is)it was a homerun{the bulb didn’t have to break to get the homerun) . I haven’t played in 20+ years, but thinking about it brings back many great memories. We broke so many light bulbs back then. The street went dark quite a few times.Now the street lights have protective covers on them.
I played near Castor and Magee in Northeast Philly.