I grew up in Hicksville,…

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I grew up in Hicksville, out on Long Island. We had a serious stickball league, stats and all, sometimes announcers throughout the sixties and seventies. I can remember both the Spaldings and the Pencie Pinkies, and somewhere in the seventies, the Pencie Pinkies that came out were almost like superballs by comparison. They were more solid, weighed more, and went further, and as someone said, they probably lasted longer. We used to fantasize that our street field was Yankee Stadium. We had an upperdeck of tall maples, a short right field fence, a deep, deep centerfield fence, and three trees out there which we referred to as the monuments. I’m looking for stickballs and stickball bats for my kids and the neighborhood kids to get something going this summer. If anyone knows where I can order them online, contact me at Hopefully, I’ll find them at the store listed above. See ya.

As my daughter said above,…

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As my daughter said above, it was a wonderful Easter Sunday. I remember playing skully when I lived in the Casle Hill Projects in the Bronx. I had some much fun playing and teaching my children and grandchildren the game. And what I remembered the most was the making of the caps. I told my grandaughter, Taylor, she had to personalize the cap. The cap was the game. We would spend hours going through the trash just to find a few. And every on had their “favorite cap”. We would spend hours on the ground playing. And we were good at it. Showing my kids brought back great mamories. For just a little while, I felt like a kid agane.

WOW! Today is Easter…

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WOW! Today is Easter and my parents as well as my brother and his wife joined us for dinner. It was a beautiful day outside and we took all opportunities to enjoy it. My daughter, 8, and sister in law decided to play on the driveway with chalk. My dad who was near by decided to reminisce and show my children and us adults (his children)how to play a game he played when he was a child growing up in the Bronx. Not remembering the name of the game, just the basics of it he taught us this really cool game that had us all playing, from my son age 5 to my dad 46. While playing we discussed how it would be neat to recall the exact rules and dimensions of this game as well as learn/remember others. I suggested the internet by searching under street games. We joked and said we could search under “ghetto games” as this is what my dad refered to them as. Low and behold here I am. When everyone left I came online to research the fun game we learned and played today as a family. I am way to excited to call my dad and send him this website. He will be thrilled. He taught us how to make the bottlecaps with crayons as weight and that is how I was able to pinpoint this game we played. Now I know the name and can find out more about it and learn others. Thank you for taking the time to make this site possible. Hopefully others can go back in time like we did and have just as much fun! Tasha O. Albany NY

I am from germany i would…

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I am from germany i would like to ask you some questions about your streetplay because i only know it from tv movies because here in germany its not really known: did you play it in perfect or is it now also popular to hang out? is it really loke in the tv movies when boys run home after school eat and then go out for meeting his friends on the street and then they play besketball after their mum is crying after them? Well, bye,viele liebe grüße! euer hans mayerbier

I remember playing “Alary”….

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I remember playing “Alary”. It went one, two, three “alary”; four, five, six, “alary”; seven, eight, nine, “alary”; ten “alary” catch me. With every number you would bounce the ball on the ground, and at “alary” you had to pass it under your right leg. (If you made it without a mistake) Then start over and do the left leg. Then you would do both legs and say “alary, alary” under each leg. I remember doing “a butterfly”, then you would bounce the ball from the outside of your right leg into the middle, move over a bit and then bounce the ball from the outside of your left leg to the middle, you would say “a butterfly” instead of “alary”. One, two, three, “a butterfly”…Then there was “a clapsy” and you would have to clap as you bounced the ball…one, two, three, “a clapsy”. There was “a clapsy” behind your back. I’m sure there were more but I can’t think of it now.

I grew up in the Sunset…

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I grew up in the Sunset Park area during the 50’s too, and we always put “fluke” on the ball as well. I also remenber trying to get the ball out of the sewer on occasion by taking apart a wire hanger and forming a loop on the end to fish out a known good spaldeen. It was like a giant easter egg dipper. Dirty work, you had to be really hard up.