How about “Clothespin Ball”…
We played many of the same…
We played many of the same games, as mentioned above, in a little section of heaven, right in Philadelphia. We were considered Wynnefield, but our streets were seperated from the rest of the city by City Line Ave, Belmont Ave, and Conshohocken Ave. Loved chink, wire ball, box ball. 46th and Sherwood was the best box ball locale in the city. You had to be fast and know how to hit low grounders, with spin. We also played a version of wall ball, where we would throw it off of one wall of a back of a row house, onto the opposite row house’s back wall and the opposing player would have to catch it. Some guys were great at making them just kiss the second wall. You had to make basket style catches on those. Great days and great memories.
I lived in Astoria growing…
I lived in Astoria growing up in the lates 50’s We used Spaldings for stick ball but we also used the Spalding to play ” Strikebox”. This game featured a Concrete wall usually in a school yard with a box chalked onto it representing a strike zone.It was played with 4 player max ( 2 per side ) or just 2 players. The pitcher stood approx 50 feet from the wall and thru the Spalding and tried to get it past the hitter.As in normal baseball the batter had a chance to get 4 balls or 3 strikes. The outs per side were agreed to in advance as were the singles douobles etc. A broomstick handle was used for a bat. In 1958 a company actually came out with a nicely varnished broomstick just for us kids to play the game..
Anyone know where I can…
my dad taught me how to…
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.
Wow, just found this site…
Wow, just found this site while browsing. I played stickball as my main passion in Bayonne NJ in the 60s, and I thought we invented the game there. I have the same memories as some of the other people, the Spalding could really take off form the bat, but it didnt curve as well as some of the cheaper balls. Loved the Spaldings until they cracked in half! I guess the best thing about the game was that you could just be your best; you would find someone who was good and then you would just play and play. My buddy at that time was a guy named Larry Adamson. I had heard of switch hitters, but I never heard of a switch pitcher- not until Larry. I was an imitator, and I was surprised at how easy it was- back then of course- to throw a reasonably good pitch with my left hand; We had some mighty battles. My best memory sounds made up, but it is true and I will tell it anyway. I might as well tell it here, my kids aren’t interested in hearing it! I was pitching, two out, bottom of the ninth, and I was ahead by a run or so; Larry was up with some men on base, and on a full count he cracked the pitch back to me, and the bat slipped out of his hands. This is a very vivid memory for me, even about 40 years later. The ball and the bat (a broomstick) were both coming at me. I stuck my hands out, put my head down, and closed my eyes. Amazingly enough, I caught the ball and ended the game. Not so amazingly for being so stupid, the bat hit me right in the head. Fortunately, it whacked me while it was spinning, and the point of the bat did not go through my skull. I had a good lump, and was dehydrated as usual after a long July or August game in the schoolyard on 47th street, and then we both went out and got some ices and that was that. I think that was the last game I ever played, although I did not know it at the time. This is the kind of satisfction that you just dont get at work! I have often thought about how my adult life is really an attempt to get back to the pleasures I had as a supposedly “underprivileged” youth.