I used to play in East New York, Brooklyn I taught MY sons the game Many years later, from about 5 Years old they loved it and so did the neighborhood kids, In this age of video games it would be great to see a comeback of the game, I hear that someone patented a simular game for indoors on a baord. If anyone has any info,I would like to hear more of it LennyM
Hi, I’m currently helping someone do some research into childhood street culture and games played. If anyone could email me with details of games played, locations or amusing stories it would be appreciated. This web site is also a fanstastic starting point for the research. Many thanks Jo email
Soft Pinkies rule. One of my most savored kid memories was walking back to school at lunch in NE Philly having just stole () a Pinkie from the corner candy store. Throwing a fresh pinkie at a nice tall brick wall on a spring afternoon is heaven on earth. Does anyone remember playing SUICIDE – a game with a sponge (Pinkie) ball against a wall (school wall). You would throw the ball to hit 1st the ground then 2nd the wall so the ball launched high in the air. If you caught it, the person who threw it must touch the wall b4 you get to peg him with the ball. If you try and catch someone else’s ball and miss, its your bum on the line. Still don’t know why it was called suicide. Likely many names for this game. Chris
I remember playing stickball in Brooklyn in the 30’s and early forties. Ave. T between East 28th and East 29th Streets. Seems that there were a lot fewer cars on the street then. One bounce to home plate. The business of the distance, sewer covers, in my opinion, was determined by the length of the stick (broom handle). The longer it was, the further it went. With a long enough stick, if you caught the ball at the end of the stick, it never came down. I believe the first thing in orbit was a Spalding. Not only spin on the ball when pitched but squezzing the Spalding (bastardized to spaldeen I guess) with the middle finger gave the pitcher what might be considered a “knuckler” which, no one ever knew which way it would bounce when it hit the ground. If you grew up in Brooklyn before the war, there was bound to be some stickball somewhere in your back ground.
Hung out on CIA & Ave K. Everyone was family, 3 generations of us & we all stuck together !!