Category Archives: Locales

This past Father’s Day I…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Joe Rivera [e-mail]
 

This past Father’s Day I called my dad in Arroyo, PR and thanked him for teaching me how to switch-hit, hit the cutoff man (although I wound up being a second baseman), how to run the bases and I always remember him telling me “never go down looking, take a cut if you’re going to make an out”. My friends all learned something from dad and applied it to their “game”. My dad played stickball as a teenager in “El Barrio” on East 103 Street and Lexington Ave, the HILL. He later played for “Los Astros” softball team in the Bronx in the early 1970’s as their 3rd baseman at Starlite Park .

My brother and I play one-on-one…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Dr. M. Millman [e-mail]
 

My brother and I play one-on-one on a handball court in Queens. We chalk a strike zone on the handball wall and pitch as fast as we can throw. A ball hit over the court fence and over the roof of the 7-storey apartment building across the street is a home run. I am 62 and my bro 58. We hail from the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. It’s as much fun as tennis or racquetball and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Since streetplay is mainly…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Jay Friedman [e-mail]
 

Since streetplay is mainly centered around sports, I would just like to relate how great a baseball / softball player my Dad was. His name was Howard Friedman and he played on the baseball team at CCNY in the early 30s. He starred as a center-fielder, batted .310 over 3 seasons and was All-City. He had a beautiful, level left-handed swing. While I never saw him play regular baseball, we played on the same softball team when I was a teenager in the 50s. He could hit 300 feet line drives with a mushy softball even when he was older and could barely run the bases. While I never even came close to being as good as he was, he did teach me how to hit, which I put to good use playing not only softball (which I still do), but stickball as a kid in Queens. Jay Friedman Decatur GA

Oh my goodness! I’m loving…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: JudiG [e-mail]
 

Oh my goodness! I’m loving this message board! I grew up in Philly playing games with my sisters and friends AND was a girlscout from Brownie to Cadet. Even went to camp four years straight. (Anybody here do Camp Laughing Waters in Gilbertsville, PA from 1969 to 1972?) One song my sisters, friends and I sang: Everybody’s doin’ it, doin’ it, doin’ it Pickin’ their nose and chewin’ it, chewin’ it. Put it in a pot and whataya got? French fried boogers and a bowl of snot! (Are kids disgusting or what? ROFL!) We used to sing the “Sippin Cider Through A Straw” song in girlscout meetings. :> My mom taught us the “Found a Peanut” song. Yep, Joanne, those are the verses she taught us. :>

is there a difference between…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: mark siano [e-mail]
 

is there a difference between a pinky ball and a pensie ball. we had only two balls to chose from, one was pink and one was white pimple ball. someone said pensie pinky was rich mans ball, i thought white pimple ball was more expensive. was there three different balls. please e-mail me at my bus or call at my bus 1-856-468-7701. i am also trying to bring boxball back. sincerely mark siano

My brother and I earned…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Mark Lymus
 

My brother and I earned our Skelly stripes in the Redhook Projects, Brooklyn, NY (1970’s). Anyone out there from Redhook that remembers Mrs. Bernice Hawkins (My Grandmother)….she’s solely responsible for my Skelly career. Her motto…”If you’re going outside, then Stay outside…no In’s and Out’s”. So, needless to say, we stayed outside all day, playing Skelly. My “top” of choice was that white metal top that came off juice bottles. My brother and I would go find all the candles in my grandmother’s house and melt wax into the top, with a penny in the middle of it for extra weight. If we ran out, we would go to the spanish store on the corner and get a candle for a nickel. I’m a father of three kids now, and I’m definitely going to teach them all about Skelly. Actually, I live in Maryland now, so it will be new to most kids and adults alike. I’m glad that I stumbled onto this site!