As measured via Google Earth, on our Queens street the sewer manhole covers were 150 to 160 feet apart. Only the stronger, older teens could hit a spaldeen two sewers (300 to 320 feet), and even then it was not common. I believe that in older sections of the city the manhole covers were often closer, perhaps 100 feet apart.
In the addition to the many ball games mentioned here, we played a few we thought to be our own invention in 60s/70s Queens. I wonder if others had similar games. One was porch ball in which players got points for tossing the ball onto the porch, running to various locations and catching the ball before it could roll off the porch and bounce. Our houses had front porches over driveways that led to garages underneath. The front edge of the porch was guarded by a wrought iron metal railing that had room for the spaldeen to roll freely under. The porch ball player stood on the driveway below the porch, tossed the spaldeen up over the railing, causing the ball the land on the porch. While the ball was bouncing on and rolling around the porch, the player ran up the driveway toward the sidewalk and street. His goal was to reach location(s) of his choice, and run back in time to catch the ball before it fell off the porch and bounced on the driveway below. Points were based on distance, something like 1 pt for reaching the sidewalk, 2 for touching the street tree, 5 for the tree across the street, 10 pts for the Stop sign on the corner, you get the idea. Sometimes you’d run to, for example, the tree, then come back below the porch and realize you had more time, so you’d gamble and run to another spot so as to add more points. Porchball combined 1) dexterity for carefully tossing the ball into the porch so that it bounced at odd angles and stayed up for a long time, 2) running speed to reach more distant locations, and 3) agility to turn around quickly and head back. Players took turns. The first person to the agreed goal number of points won. Another game was a volleyball-like and had a name that changed according to the highest score any group had reached. A group of players formed a circle the street; any number could play. To begin, someone tossed the spaldeen in the air, and after it came down and bounced, anyone could hit it with their hand back into the air. That was #1, as the group would call out aloud. This was repeated to get #2, then #3, etc. This bounce-hit cycle continued unbroken until no one was able to hit the ball back into the air before it bounced more than once. Inevitably after awhile someone would hit the ball high/far so as to create challenging/exciting chases. I seem to recall the highest score we ever got was 702.
In the 60s/70s in Queens we played the game Al LaPlaca described, and called it garage ball because 1) we happened to play it against a wall adjacent to a garage, and 2) had never heard another particular name for it. I remember the spaldeens-in-the-bike-spokes as 1952 Kid mentioned. It was an easy way to transport the ball.
On our Queens street in the ’60s and ’70s we played both the baseball version of stoopball, which I think we called Single-Double-Triple, as well as what Joe H. described, which we called 5-10-20. I’m surprised no one mentioned the problem of the spaldeen going forward over the roof rather than bouncing back. In Single-Double-Triple we’d often aim for the edge of the step in order to get the powerful return, but this also meant we’d sometime miss the edge slightly high, resulting in a ball that would go up but also continue forward and either bounce off the house or go up on the roof. With luck the spaldeen would continue to bounce on the roof, and go completely over, so we could retrieve it from the backyard. The balls that didn’t make it to the backyard were bad news. Not only did they end the game, but also it meant they’d gotten stuck in the roof’s gutter, from which they’d eventually go into the downspout and then clog our house’s drainage plumbing. For some reason this would upset my otherwise patient Dad. 😉
It is great to know there are others out there that remember this game. I grew up in Chicago in the 70’s and learned this at a summer camp at a YMCA near Fullerton and Central Park. We called it skully caps. My memory of the rules and board are sketchy and my husband thought I was crazy. Now I have proof and the rules of play to teach my son!
I grew up in Brooklyn (MacDougal Street) between Ralph and Howard Avenues. Went to P.S. 40, George Washington Carver. I am so enthusiastic about finding this site. I currently live in Maryland but have lived all over and NEVER found anyone knowing of Skelly. I use to play with Lorenzo (LO or China) Raymond, Johnny, Junior,Squeechy and many, many others. Summers in Brooklyn, the memories are the best!!! Get at me if anyone is from this area of Brooklyn. I miss home. I was Michael ( Mike ) Red Devil, Dazz etc.
Just got through reading all the entries, and thought I would add a few things. I grew up in the bronx during the depression and we used “Spaldeens”. It si my understanding that these inexpensive balls (10 cents at the time) were made by Spaulding and were actually tennis ball “rejects” that didn’t meet the bounce tests. Therefore they didn’t coat them with the fuzzy coating, but sold them as is. A comment on the origin of the game “skully”. I have heard that mosaics in ancient Rome have shown “Skully” layouts. Any truth to these stories??
I played in Queens in the 80’s. It was mostly a summer game and we would play from morning until night. Often taking a mid-afternoon break as the summer sun would start melting everyone’s cap filler to some degree. My favorite all time cap is the grey cap of the bottle of 35mm film filled with clay. Other good caps we the cover from babersol Shaving cream(with clay) and the white Tropicana bottle cap with coins. I love to here how this is such NYC game. Gives a certain nostalgia to childhood in NYC. I would love to play again. Need to draw a board somewhere.
I used to play stoopball in Rochdale Village. there were these small little areas where the maintenance crew could access the building. you would go down this small flight of stairs which was partially enclosed and played up against the stairs. I remember if you hit the edge of the stair and caught the ball you would get extra points. this was in the mid to late sixties. We would also play off the wall against the buildings. What great days.