Category Archives: Locales

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Our present team is made up of former kids from the Bronx… we played with our father “Bouncer” who loved stickball. When our parents moved to Florida, he formed a team (still called the Florida Kings). Soon after he and a couple of friends (Larry and Pete) began games between the Florida Kings and the Young Devils of Manhattan… traveling between the two states. As a result of that, there are now many teams participating in twice a year tournaments between the States and, as of this year, California. My Dad died on a stickball field… he was as close to heaven as he could be at the time… he loved the game… he was with his sons and good, long time friends… doing what he loved… so… he was blessed. We go on playing… we love the game as he did. We recognize the close relationships that these games have produced… the friendships that will never fade, the memories that will never fade… We remember the Bronx streets… the streets of Harlem… Mott Street… We will never forget where we came from. Our children have now become a part of it too.

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On Saturday Aug 7, some great Stickball was played at Ozone Park Queens. Usually Streetplay provides live coverage of the Event, but due to the fact that we were part of one of the teams, the coverage had to be a bit different. Look to the site mid-week to read some great stories about an awesome day.

I just wanted to put my…

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I just wanted to put my 2 cents in from the Queens/Nassau line….In the 50’s and 60’s back there the game dictated the ball. Wall stickball, with lots of field area and several players per side – spaldeen. It went further, which was okay under these conditions. Stoop ball from one side of narrow street ( other curb = home run ) – Pensie Pinkie. It was softer, more contollable under those conditions. Life was great: stick ball, stoop ball, wiffle ball, 2-hand touch, 4 horses, Yoo-Hoos, baseball over the radio. Are Pensie Pinkies available anywhere?

Yes SPALDEENS ARE BACK! …

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Yes SPALDEENS ARE BACK! and you can get yours ONLINE for only $1.69 ea. With FREE* Shipping! Why am I offering this? Because I used to live in Brooklyn, and have Great memories of SPALDEEN’s and when I heard they were coming back, I had to be part of it! Get your SPALDEEN at: http://www.juicers.net

Played stickball in Rego…

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Played stickball in Rego Park, Queens in the late 40s and early 50s with Spaldeens. (Just bought a case of the new version.) Mostly we used broomsticks, but sometime in the 60s I bought a manufactured bat, which I still own and sometimes use to play with my brother. I couldn’t pitch very well as a kid, and still can’t, but was and am a pretty good hitter though I’m almost 60. Remember 1 game in 1954 when I hit a home run right down the foul line (the corner of an apartment building) which was protested for weeks afterwards by the opposing team.

Played stick, stoop, punch,…

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Played stick, stoop, punch, hand, box, base and softball in Rego Park, Queens in the late 40s and early 50s. Used spaldeens for the 1st 5, as Pennsy Pinkies were considered inferior in that neighborhood. There were 2 basic versions of stick: 1) balls and strikes against a wall with chalked strike zone (between shoulders and knees of a medium sized kid and about 18″ wide) and pitches thrown on a fly, with a minimum of two players, but no base-running and; 2) in the street with a sewer as home, a car as 1st, another sewer as 2nd and another car as 3rd, pitches on a bounce and base running. This version needed lots of players. Punch ball was like 2nd version of stickball.

how about winters, we couldn’t…

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how about winters, we couldn’t afford the sleds with runners so we found some large pieces of cardboard, or cloth potato sacks and slid down the “slopes” in Crotona(sic) Park in da bronx – the highest hill was near the swimming pool right across from PS (i can’t remember PS what) where i took a “special” class (called cardiac class – cause i had rheumatic fever and a heart murmur), we used to have to take a nap while the other kids were out playing… & in the summer we used to use cardboard or sacks and slide down the same grass covered hills… that was back in the late 30’s – a few years ago i took my son to show him the tenements, schools and park where i grew up as a youngster (before movin to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles) ((now know as East LA))… the school and apartments were all boarded up—i almost cried!!

OK Cuz, I think you…

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OK Cuz, I think you should have one of your talented and creative pals write a screenplay or Broadway musical about stick ball and how it created for one average Brooklyn born boy the discipline and courage to become a big business mogel or owner of the Yankees or something. Once the movie or musical sweeps the nation, streetplay can be the official website with interviews with the stars and such. Your merchandising alone could be worth millions…T shirts reading “From catcher to Chairman of the Board” on the back with a picture of a stickball team on the front. Lunchboxes, action figures, comic books…egad the sky is the limit.

Regarding “fishing ball…

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Regarding “fishing ball out of sewer”: About ten years ago, corner of West Broadway and Ericsson Street downtown Manhattan. Woman emerges from coffee shop with breakfast, is putting change back into purse, driver’s license falls out, falls into sewer. Several men who harbored cherished memories of lying on their stomachs and retrieving spaldeens spring into action: “Get a coat hanger!”, “Don’t worry, Lady — I’m an old hand at this.”, “Oh my God! I haven’t even thought about this in forty years!”, etc.. A hanger is produced, the tool is properly fashioned, the license (which had lodged on a dry ledge within the sewer), was adroitly brought to the surface, and returned to its owner. Woman proceeds to work with grateful “thank you” to all. In her wake, a very unlikely group of various New Yorkers were all grins while a common memory cast its spell.

As a child growing up in…

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As a child growing up in Queens co.,I played many baseball related games. One was stoopball where I would pitch the ball on the steps catching the rebound as a grounder or fly.It was practice pitching, but I was really simulating pitching for a big leauge time, wearing my number 41 jersey like my idol, Tom Seaver. I also played intersec- tion ball, where all 4 corners were used as bases. We used a standard bat and a tennis ball, with self pitching.In the lawn behind 3rd base was a HR with a “roofer” going for a loss.