Category Archives: Ace King Queen

I played for hours on the…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I played for hours on the corner of 85th St and 21st Ave in Brooklyn, with the rumble of the B train as background music. We had our court on the sidewalk, because there was just too much traffic from 86th Street… there was no way to play a game on the asphalt. We played 13-box, in two versions. If there were a lot of players it was 1-13, for a more leisurely game it was 1-13,13-1 before you could start knocking other players out of the game. In the dark ages before twist off caps, the most prized cap was one with only a slight indentation from a bottle opener. We would rub the caps back and forth, back and forth on the sidewalk to get a smooth silver matte look on the bottom. Pop in a penny over the cork, and melt a candle (“wasting” a crayon that way would have made my mother berserk, “Whaddya think, we get them free from somewhere?”). When the wax was just about firm, if you pulled a piece of paper towel over the cap it put a pattern in the top of the wax. With box ball, tops, yo-yo, skelly, and chinese handball, who needed camp?

We played the “traditional”…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

We played the “traditional” stickball when I was a kid in Queens, NY, but we used a loaded whiffle-ball bat with a taped up barrel for a little extra weight. To us, it was a kids’ game. We grew out of it as we improved at baseball. We couldn’t all play on the same little league team and hardball was too expensive (we were ghetto) and didn’t have 18 guys who could play hardball to get a game going. Softball…face it, softball is for girls and old men. We took up fast-pitch (wall) stickball in schoolyards. Nowdays we play in a league all over the NYC metro area. There is no running the bases; the batter gets credit for a hit if the ball passes certain distances (marked out on the field) without being cleanly fielded or caught on the fly, as the case may be. Most players use either a metal bat, a combination wood/metal bat or a wooden bat with sheet metal rolled onto the barrel- it’s too hard to make solid contact with the old, broomstick-style wooden bats. Rules limit the size of the barrel. The kink is that we play with shaved and singed down tennis balls (We use old ones with not as much air in them). The effect is less resistance, so the ball is pitched faster and breaking pitches have some sick movement. Because the ball is also smaller than a conventional tennis ball, it is much harder to get a hold of one. However, pitching this smaller, lighter ball probably does even more damage than a baseball does to your arm over the long run. Typically, the games are low scoring with a ton of strikeouts. The top pitchers frequently strike out 15-20 batters in a 9-inning game. Basically, if the guy has good control, you’re going to be up against it. No-hitters happen, especially during doubleheaders, when games are only 7 innings. You don’t usually scratch out runs. Most scoring comes from home runs. During the playoffs, when both teams have their aces going, you’ll get 1-0 games where teams get less than 5 hits per side. But that’s what makes the game all the more intense. Any run you can scratch out matters immensely. There have been many leagues over the years. In the late 80s/early 90s there were about 200 teams of all skill levels. Because most of the better players joined forces and consolidated into super-teams, fewer people play now but the competition is much tougher.

I grew up in the Alfred…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in the Alfred E. Smith Projects (Catherine and Madison Street intersection) across from P.S. 1. Lived there from 1953-1967 when my family moved to Brooklyn. I remember the Essex Street Markets as well as the “pickle man” on Essex Street. If none of you have not seen it, I highly recommend you watching “Crossing Delancey” starring Amy Irving. It was filmed on location! Shows the handball courts on Essex Street and centers around Amy’s character and the pickle man! Used to go with my mom to the Fulton Fish Market (still remember seeing the dead fish staring at me on the ice there! Later on, we bought fish at a market on Monroe Street. The only supermarket in the area was an A&P that was on Market Street and almost directly under the Manhattan Bridge. I played little league ball at Coleman’s Oval near the Manhattan Bridge (off Cherry Street). Played a lot of stickball at Cherry Street Park, across the street from the then Journal American building on one side and Knickerbocker Village on the other. The Journal American building is now the home to the NY Post. Remember the original hand warmers in the winter time? Right. A 15 cent knish off the knish cart! There was so much to do back there: San Gennaro festival on Mulberry Street, Chinese New Year on Mott Street, the Jewish Deli’s (Katz’s and Issac Gellis were my faves). I went to St. James School on St. James Place. That is the same school that Alfred E. Smith went to. It is also the parish that lays claim to the first American order of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Played lots of chinese handball on St. James Place, on the outside wall of Vanella Funeral Home of all places! Played stickball, slap ball, punchball, stoop ball, all with the Spaldeen. Much prefered that over the Pensie Pinky. I can still hear the echoes of “chips on the ball, 25 cents” before playing a game of ball. Anyone here remember making the chalk socks? You take about 5 big sidewalk chalks put them inside a sock, smash them a bit, tie the sock up and then sneak up on someone and bop them with the sock! It didn’t really hurt but was kind of funny to see the shocked face and the chalk smoke linger a moment in the air over the unsuspecting victim! In my neighborhood we called them Mama Lucci’s. Maybe it was called that because I lived so close to Little Italy. Anyone here remember “salugee”? This was a spontaneous devilish game where you would take a personal item from someone and then keep it from them as you threw it to your friends (keep away). After a while some wise guy would start daring you to “roof it” and you would throw the object towards the roof of the many cold water flats of the area. What rotten kids! I have been contemplating writing a book about growing up in NYC in that time period, illustrating the various street games, rituals, etc. that made that little part of NY so special. If anyone would like to contact me. Bill

Just discovered your site…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

Just discovered your site and was enthralled. At a dinner conversation at Easter, old dad (me) was relating to his kids (27,25,and 17) how in the old days crossing your fingers and calling “fins” could protect you from anything. Wouldn’t it be nice if the rules still applied. I also was interested in your ace-king-queen description and pictures (look like they might be from the ’70’s) My memory of the game includes such “calls” as “fluke,” and “hindu” and “babying.” Anybody else remember such things? My email is mssmikeg [at] aol [dot] com

PS 66 in Richmond Hill Queens…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

PS 66 in Richmond Hill Queens had everything from punchball, stickball, slapball (“Slap”). basketball, off the wall, asses up, ringelevio, coco-monster, chinese, handball, whiffleball, errors, 5 boxes, hit the penny, strikeouts, to softball. I even remember the “non athletic” kids playing checkers, chess, or cards off in some corner. Out in the street were skelly games, I Declare War, Tops, and kids doing unbelievable things with yo-yos. Soemtimes we would use nearby Forest park fo ringelevio…and of course one of the Queens meccas, Victory Field. What memories. This experience of playing led me to my wonderful profession – a Physical Educator.

Re: Chinese Handball Might…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

Re: Chinese Handball Might as well share with all. It’s been over 35 years since I played chinese handball in Queens, but here goes: Unlike handball, where you have to hit the wall on a fly, in chinese handball you have to hit the wall on a bounce. If you hit it on a fly you’re out. If you hit it on 2 bounces you’re out. If the ball bounces twice before you hit it, you’re out. You can hit it off the wall on a fly, but again you have to bounce it once before it hits the wall. You would decide how large the court was. If you hit it out of bounds you’re out too. Like handball, you could only score a point on your serve. It the ball hit off a crack and went at an odd angle, it was a “hindoo” and you played the point over. Hope this helps.

Hi – I grew up in Jackson…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

Hi – I grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens and played all of the street games everyone else did: Handball, stickball, stoop ball, Chinese handball, boxball, single-double-triple, slapball, errors, etc. Pensie Pinkies definitely were higher bouncers than Spaldeens and easier on the hand for both punchball and handball, especially on cold days. I haven’t seen a Pensie Pinkie in maybe 30 years, but I recently bought a “Spalding” at a Modell’s where I now live in Fairfax County, VA. It cost $1.99 – a far cry from the 15 cents or so when I was a kid, but probably equivalent with 35-40 years of inflation. Anyway, I got to play some fungo stickball with my 10 year old son today, and also introduced him to boxball. I have a stickball bat I bought about 10 years ago. If anyone knows where you can currently get a Pensie Pinkie, let me know. It was great finding this site.