What some people call Box Ball, we on Cabrini Blvd. between 177th & 178th Streets in Washington Hights, NY we called SLUG. Slug was played on a street bldg. wall and the expansion joints on the street was the dividing line to the curb. Also, baseball was played in the Court Yards to the entrance of buildings (somewhat confining, but you played a good quick game..
I grew up in Manhattan om the lower east side…Jacob Riis Projects….We played there and then as I grew older we played on 13th St between Ave A and 1st Ave…. I just recently found a Spaldeen ball… and I;m looking to start a league here in Virginia…Today is only the second day of this adventure…. My goal is to get a team up and match up with those in NYC… and so on… To eventually play in Puerto Rico’s World Series… I use to play all version’s of this game… and now that I’m 55 years old and in relatively good shape.. I’m looking to play once again!!!!
this is an all out challenge i coach a group of kids in the east harlem projects where i grew up and if any 1 who is reading this reach me at justussports [at] yahoo [dot] com i have pics on my facebook page look up angelo martinez pics also on myspace.com/justussports..it would be cool to hear from any 1 because we r the bestttttt we play with pocker chips the best
I was describing the game to my grandson, telling him how I played the game at the Dyckman Projects in Washington Heights in the 50’s, and how my middle finger would be bleeding and raw all the time because of the ragged edge of the soda bottle caps and how we would rub the bottoms on the sidewalk to smooth them out from the bumps of the soda can opener……he was amazed that they didn’t have screw on bottle tops…..he also didn’t know what a radiator was when I told him that that’s how we melted the crayons into the bottle tops and sometimes the wax would overflow down the sides of the radiator and my mother would yell at me.
My hangout was the boysclub on 10th st.ave a. kind of diagonally across the st. from thompkins square park. early 60s to 70s. me and my friends would meet at the boysclub, and cruise the lowereast side, avanues a.b.c.and d.Sids candy shop sat on the corner of 10th and b. sometimes we would meetup there, and hangout, always something goin on in the hood. A very diverse cultured area. Early in the 60s was ok, but as time went on the area became ridden with junkies and lots of street crime. So we banded together into a group of guys called the 10th st boys. we protected ourselves, and lots of people in the area. there were about 20 of us. all colors, all ethnic backgrounds, we were not street criminal, but we held our own. We played handball in thompkins square pk. And basketball, and went dancing at the electric circus on 8th st. and hangout there also, mod a go go was in, lots of drugs. lots of women. Good and crazy times, the clubbing in the village area, shows at the fillmore east. doors, jimi hendrix, the cheetah clubs, where james brown arethea franklin 4 tops temptations, all the big name of that era played. I had some great times coming from the lower eastside. I wouldnt change a thing, some good some bad, but thats life.
I don’t know how far apart the manhole covers were where I played, but there were players that could hit a spaldeen four sewers on teams in the South Bronx, Harlem and Little Italy. You didn’t see it often. Only the hard hitters could do it and they usually were Chops with the wind. This was back in the 1950’s.
I don’t know how far apart the manhole covers were where I played, but there were players that could hit a spaldeen four sewers on teams in the South Bronx, Harlem and Little Italy. You didn’t see it often. Only the hard hitters could do it and they usually were Chops with the wind. This was back in the 1950’s.
I played Skelsies in the 70’s in the Vladeck Housing projects on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I played so much in the summer that my knees were permanently black with dirt all summer long. I discovered the gray lids from the 35mm film worked great with a little melted crayon. I would float a dime in the middle for style and weight. There were quite a few fights due to the Slappsies which shot the opposing cap down the block. I miss the simpler times. Now with giutar Hero you just don’t get the neighborhood feel. Thanks for the warm memories.
I grew up in NJ in the 80s but one of our teachers grew up in Hell’s Kitchen in the 50s and taught us this great game. I remember the time I spent at night trying to perfect the best skelly cap using a soda bottle top, penny in the bottom and melting (and trying to swirl) various colors of crayons. My skill at this rewarded me with my first business venture, charging 50 cents to a dollar for my product!! I can’t wait to teach my children this game!!