Category Archives: Locales

From Goldy (my street name)…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Ed Gold
 

From Goldy (my street name) Back in the forties in Brownsville in Brooklyn, we made our own scooter. We would get a crate from the fruit and vegetable store, a 2×4 was nailed to it and half a skate, one in front and one in the back nailed to the 2×4. If we could, we would make handlebars from 2 pieces of wood nailed in a “v” shape on top of the crate. We would then decorate the front of the crate with bottle caps. We could run errands for grandma by putting packages inside the crate. That was all we could afford for transportation.

In Bensonhurst Brooklyn…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Kevin Rego
 

In Bensonhurst Brooklyn in the late 60s and early 70s we evolved our bottle caps from the traditional wax(or crayon) and penny filled ones to using medicine caps (pre childproof)filled with pennies and clay. We found that you could get a much faster smoother slide with better accuracy for longer shots. Has anyone used this type of cap?

Reporting from Parkchester…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Sully
 

Reporting from Parkchester in the 60’s. We played in the courtyard of the U-shaped PS126. Singles, doubles, triples by hitting the opposite wall above the windows of each level. A narrow band below the roof was a home run, but on the roof was an out, for the ball was lost, and the batter had to run down to the candy store to buy a new Spaldeen ($.25?). If nobody had money, the game was over. My best stickball story is from the Saturday afternoon when I was having such a blast playing that I forgot my altar boy assignment for the 5:00PM mass at St. Raymond’s. My mom was so ripped when I strolled home at 7:00PM that I had to go to three consecutive masses the next day. From humiliation came responsibility, I guess. Great website, great memories from the Bronx.

I grew up in Queens and…

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

I grew up in Queens and remember my grandfather playing Bocci Ball. I now live in TN and work at an Events Facility and Bed & Breakfast. We would like to offer games like this to our guests. If anyone could give me info on the rules etc. I would greatly appreciate it.

I remember spending many…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Melinda
 

I remember spending many a summer playing in Brooklyn near the “safety zone” between Amersfort Place and E. 27th (?) Street near Brooklyn College. The “big boys” painted at least one, and possibly more, boards in the street on that bend – now, if anyone knows that neighborhood you can imagine how many times we had to get up to let cars pass in their search for the elusive thing known as a “parking spot” near the college. One thing no one else has mentioned is the sodder cap. We evlolved from empty caps to wax ones (I can still hear my mom yelling at me for using her good candles) to wax and penny ones and finally – the ultimate – sodder! What a blast you could get from that!

Oh site is too cool. Here’s…

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

Oh site is too cool. Here’s one from my elementary days (PS.70 in the Bronx) Ms. Mary Mack, Mack, Mack All dressed in Black, black, black. With silver buttons, buttons, buttons All down her back, back, back. She asked her mother, mother, mother. For 15 cents, cents, cents. To see the elephants, elephants, elephants. Jump over the fence, fence, fence. He jumped so high, high, high. That he reached the sky, sky, sky and he never came back, back, back ‘Til the 4th of July, lie, lie. And also, Grandma, Grandma sick in bed called the doctor and the doctor said Grandma, Grandma you ain’t sick all you need is a hickory stick hands up, shake it, shake it, shakity shake (*hand directions*) hands down, shake it, shake it, shakity shake to the front to the back to the side, side, side (*jumping directions* to the front to the back to the side, side, side I never went to college, I never went to school but I bet you five dollars I could shake it like a fool.

I grew up in the Fredrick…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Danny
 

I grew up in the Fredrick Douglas Housing Projects on 104th St. between Columbus and Manhattan Avenues in NYC back in the late 50’s and through the sixties. I must have been really under privledged back then ’cause I’ve never even heard of a pensie pinky or anything thereabouts. Oh yeah I played StickBall, Stoopball, Punchball, hell, even Whiffleball. We even pitched and hit bottlecaps, but the only ball I ever knew was the “Spaulding” better known as the “Spauldeen” and that’s what we used, except for whiffleball of course. Anyway, there was one thing we did to old, beaten-up, dead, on their last leg spauldeen’s just before sending them to that big spauldeen factory in the sky… Does anybody out there remember “Roofin” a spauldeen!!! Oh yeah! If you had an arm and thought you could throw it up onto one of the taller 21 story project buildings you were not to be messed with!!!

I just found this place…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Scott Fisher
 

I just found this place & it awoke memories that I didn’t know that I had. I think I only played stickball less than a handfull of times. I lived in the Bronx ’til I was 6 & moved to Queens. The street games, OK the ball games didn’t exist in the new surroundings. There were pre made playgrounds & basketball hoops — never could get into that. After looking this site over, I remembered playing & I wanted to play again. I told my 13 & 16 year old daughters about stickball & they were exicted & wanted to play. They invited a friend over each and after going to the dollar store, got a broom (& promptly removed the stick) & a can of tennis balls (sorry, no spauldeens here in Central Connecticut). We played for a couple of hours and everybody, including this overweight 40+ kid, had a blast. Now, my kids want to teach me to play suicide. It sure as hell beats watching TV or watching someone else play video games. Thanks for waking up this kid! Scott Fisher