Category Archives: Locales

CENTRAL BROOKLYN MODEL CITIES…

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

CENTRAL BROOKLYN MODEL CITIES SUMMER PROGRAMS. Another of the many residential camp for the “urban youth” back in the late ’70’s. I was 14 and deeply into swimming, with no access to more than the neighborhood recreation pool. We went to The University of Durham New Hampshire. Beautiful campus, I immediately fell in love with the young lifeguard instructor, who stayed on campus to teach swimming for the summer. Fancied myself a great swimmer until told to do just 10 laps the full length of that olympic pool in order to qualify to begin diving and life-saving instruction. I almost burst a lung.It took a couple of weeks and many hours before I could knock-out 20 laps without hardship. Organized sports in that environment was just what we roughnecks needed. They had science and other classes to keep our minds from getting rusty for the summer. We even saw dissected felines marinating in formaldyhyde. Fresh air and adolescent hormones. I finally developed a crush on some one my own age, Paris Lucas, the best guy swimmer in the group, I was the best girl. I wasn’t so popular, so I could spend more time developing my skills than the more developed ladies. Paris thought I was just fine, and that suited me. I had been made president of the “Itty Bitty Titty Committee, and they were nice enough to hang my name-labled 32AA bra on the camp flagpole. They took the swimmers to the ocean and had us swim out to a distant rock formation. Most of us made it and 3 of us decided to hang out and sunbathe on that rock for a few hours. Later, We were baked and exhausted and could barely make it back. I was cocky when executing bold high-dives until I didn’t pull out in time and smacked into the water. They thought I was joking and took a while to figure out that I was unconscious. Gave me a red burn much worse than a sun. It was a great healthy summer that took me out of my usual element. Open fire hydrants on a hot summer day are great, but I’d opt for a clean non-overcrowded olympic pool any day.

I just read all the messages…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: abe
 

I just read all the messages and most apply to me. First at 108 street Manhattan east side, then 89th Street West side. When I returned from the army my first thought when walking home was how empty the streets were. No Ball Games. I had played them all and great fun. Cops to watch out for, Hide sticks, two sewer hitters were rare but after all claimed to be. Older guys played for money, not me. Balls on roof and balls in basement..watch out for the Nazi who lived there… and pepsi for 5 cents were all part of it. Stopping when parent called and the game went on for those remaining. So many memories. Thanks I told my sons abourt these and they were impresses, not having known stickball..

In Bayside, Queens, during…

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

In Bayside, Queens, during the early 1950s, there was a game played at PS 41. It was called “double wall” and was a variant of stickball. Two players, batter and pitcher, and the batter had to hit a ball that bounced between the two walls. The more the better. We also played punchball, and I always wondered if this game originated, or was popularized during WWII, with limited space/only one spaldeen required. Bob

Growing up in South Philly,…

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

Growing up in South Philly, the pimple ball was indispensible. You couldn’t play the street games without it: Stickball (aka Fastball), Halfball, Hit the Penny, Chink, Wallball, Wireball, Babies in the Air. I find it difficult to explain to my kids just what a pimple ball was. I wish I had saved one to show them. The thing I found most interesting about it was when you pressed your index finger hard on the top of the ball and throw it hard releasing it so that it’s trajectory was toward the ground, it would almost float as it sped toward it’s target. I’ve seen guys throw them almost the length of a city block where the ball made the entire trip 6 inches off the ground.

My older brother and I used…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Anonymous
 

My older brother and I used to take a bus up Nostrand Avenue every Saturday and go to the Flatbush boys club. This was in the late 50’s, early 60’s. I remember the ping pong, pin bowling, chess in the library, swimming (in the nude). There used to be a little greasy spoon restaurant where you got a hamburger, coke and french fries for $.50. Very good memories.

Slight local variation on…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Anonymous
 

Slight local variation on “Suicide” in my area (Malden, MA, near Boston, at Forestdale Elementary): No one was ever out of the game for good–it went on until recess was over or everyone was bored. People just sort of came and went. You throw the ball against the wall. If someone catches the fly that person becomes the thrower. Otherwise you keep throwing. If someone touches it on the fly without catching it, (s)he runs for the wall while whoever happens to pick up the ball tries to peg him/her before (s)he reaches it. If the runner gets pegged, (s)he has to sit out until someone else gets pegged. This was not too long ago (1994, 1995). I just saw it as a more complex Off the Wall (also a great game).

Many things come to mind…

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

Many things come to mind when I think of skelly. Here are a few: 1)New Jersey, 1964. We stopped at Tony’s Hot Dogs near lake Hopatcong on a Sunday as I recall. I asked the man behind the counter, actually my dad asked the man, if we could have some bottlecaps. I guess some meant all because he filled up a couple of paper bags full. It was a great ride home as a 7 year old digging out all of the cork and couldn’t wait to show my friends my motherlode of caps. 2)I can still remember the smell of melted crayons in my friend’s garage as we readied our bottlecaps for action. We lived in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn and if it wasn’t stickball or Spud it was all day skelly marathons. 3)About 1970 or thereabouts during my last glory days as a pre-teen and the end of skelly as a pasttime, I pulled one of the biggest miscues of my life, to that point. My dad had just bought me a new pair of Pro Keds and I proceeded to wear out the sides in a matter of days due to several skellythons. Needless to say, it was back to discount sneakers for me. I wish this generation could experience all of the great street games that I grew up with in Brooklyn and Queens.

I remember playing skelly…

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

I remember playing skelly with my friends in the Linden houses in ENY Brooklyn. There was a coke-a-cola bottling plant on Linden Blvd, my best friend and I road our bikes there and asked one of the workers for some bottle caps to play skelly. He gave us a whole bag full of new caps, back then it seemed like a bag of gold. We melted lead fishing weights, crayons and anything else that would melt to fill the caps. Skelly was the best game. Kids on Long Island NY are missing out on a great game…. Thanks for the memories…. Rich

Didn’t see anyone here from…

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

Didn’t see anyone here from my Brooklyn… I think that is cause most of the people are still there saying, “Yeah I live in Brooklyn, so F***ing What???” Since I was born (Brighton Beach 1968) till I left (Williamsburg 1999) I lived in Brooklyn all my life. Most of my childhood I lived in the Sheepshead Bay area, From Kings Highway to Graves End to the Bay. Man, it was hard, fun, wild, sad and wonderful. So much to say about it, for the things everyone remembers Wed. fireworks (think it was wed. or maybe Thurs.) at Coney, to the things people would like to forget, like seeing a black guy get his ass kicked, just because he was black or for that matter, me getting my ass kicked cause my friend had a big mouth. Learned a lot growing up there about people and life. I can’t see myself having grown up anywhere else. Miss being young there, skelly and Peas and butter, asses up, off the wall, Also, off the wall in mellet park, kick the can, ringaleavio, War, red rover, all the different tag games, the local drug store that sold the best eggcreams, Wonderful Mr. Iseman (hope I’m spelling it right) who used to run a few movies theaters in Brooklyn like the Kingsway and fortway, who used to let me in for nothing cause my brothers used to work there, to getting my first job that Joe’s Pizza on ave. U (that was a good slice), BLOCK PARTIES!!! Remember those?????? Wow… man… Halloween in Bklyn was always a blast, there was the house on AVE X and 15th or something and they alwasy put on a show, then you have 4th of July, where some blocks you couldn’t even get through because if the big fire in the middle of the street with the mats and block busters going off (got a few wax loads in my gut, from time to time). Anyone remember Sheepshead Bay Roller disco? How about Romeo and Juliet’s Disco? All the bars in Bay Ridge? Calm houses at the Bay? Spumoni Gardens? Man, I can go on and on. I’ll tell you, from 1974 when I was only 6 to about 1988 when I was 18, was some of the best times and the worst I have ever had and I miss it all.