This might have been a just a New Jersey game. We used to play “Kick the Can” on a quiet suburban street. The neighborhood was full of kids in 1969 to about 1974. Anyway the game was played by putting a can on the manhole cover in the street, and the kid who won the previos game would kick the can as far as they could. Everyone would scatter to go run and hide while the kid who was “it” would chase the can and bring it back to home base.
When the can touched home base, they yelled “freeze”. Now they had to spot all of the kids hiding, (or trying to hide). The “can” kid would say “tap tap tap on Egg Head behind the Fusco’s bush” (or some other nick name and hiding place) Egg Head (real name Bruce who got a really bad hair cut that summer) would go to “jail” and sit on the curb near home base. The can kid would have to venture away from the can furhter and further in order to find more kids hiding. If he got too far, someone can come out of hiding and “Kick the Can” off home base, which frees all those in jail, and the game starts all over. The only way to win is get everyone in jail.
That’s it. Has anyone played this one?