Category Archives: Other Spaldeen games

Wiffle Ball We’d get…

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Wiffle Ball We’d get on a wiffle ball kick and start playing every day for awhile through the summer. You’d use a hollow white plastic ball, with vents on one side. You could throw great curves and sinkers. You’d have a yellow plastic bat that was kind of like a combination between a baseball and stickball bat. You’d play either one on one or teams, with a couple of guys on it. You didn’t run with wiffle ball. If they didn’t catch it, depending on how far you it would determine how many bases you’d get. You couldn’t hit the ball too hard, so a great shot would be 20 or 30 yards (depending on the wind). The ribs in the top of the ball could be pressed in and let you get a better breaking ball. It was great to pitch with, hard to hit and hard to field the ball. I don’t know why they called it wiffle ball, probably cause of the noise it made when as it sailed through the air.

I grew up in Greenpoint…

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I grew up in Greenpoint and we would play 4 corner slapball. We played in the middle of the street on the corner of Jackson and Leonard Streets. In the summer we’d play all day and during the school year we’d play as soon as we got homt. This was a major intersection so we had to be careful and to stop whenever the cars came. By 4:30 it started getting pretty hectic. We also had a sewer on one corner so we had to be real careful not to let the ball go down otherwise you had to fish it out. You couldn’t hit the ball on the fly – just ground balls. If you hit it over the infield you were out. Five guys or more could play per team. We’d play everyday using either the Spaldeen or Pensie Pinkie.

When I was in Jr. High School,…

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When I was in Jr. High School, I was a very manipulative kid. I always got the kids to follow what I wanted to do, but they ultimately came to despise me. I was really good at boxball (Chinese Handball), but one time I finally lost. We were doing booties up – the kids lined up with glee in the eyes and I realized how much they hated me. It was an epiphany. I realized I must be doing something wrong and I changed.

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In the East End of London we’d also play ball in the streets. Because we were in a crowded neighborhood you’d modify the ball games. You’d play football (soccer) in the park, but in the street you’d modify it to kick against a wall, which the other guy had to return. It was kind of like squash, but with a soccer ball. We’d play cricket by painting stumps on the wall, and then hitting only to the front or sides. We even had a game we called “Stickball” in which you’d use a broom handle to hit a tennis ball. We didn’t have bases, it was just for fun. We’d create all kinds of games against this one wall about 200 yards from my house. A wall, a ball and a parking lot was all we needed for hours of fun.

I remember that there were…

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I remember that there were 2 tests you gave a ball to check it. First you bounced to see if it was dead or live. Second, you sqeezed it to see if it was cracked, soft or hard. Once, I was in the candy store and a little kid was buying an egg ball and wanted to check it out. He innocently asked the store owner: “George, can I squeeze your balls”. We cracked up and the kid did not understand why. Remember stoop ball and 5 boxes.

For the record, I remember…

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For the record, I remember we called them “Pensa Pinkies,” but these were the same squashy pink balls that everyone seems to call “Pensie Pinkies”. They were best for stoop ball. I wish I could remember how we played, but the point in our version I’m pretty sure was always how high and far the ball went, not where you bounced it from. We always aimed at the corner of the sidewalk and the street and tried to get the ball to rebound over the heads of our opponents to the opposite side of the street. We played on St. John’s Place in Brooklyn near the Botanical Gardens. This would have been about 1965. The game we called handball was just like baseball except that we hit the ball with our fist instead of a bat.

I just wanted to put my…

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I just wanted to put my 2 cents in from the Queens/Nassau line….In the 50’s and 60’s back there the game dictated the ball. Wall stickball, with lots of field area and several players per side – spaldeen. It went further, which was okay under these conditions. Stoop ball from one side of narrow street ( other curb = home run ) – Pensie Pinkie. It was softer, more contollable under those conditions. Life was great: stick ball, stoop ball, wiffle ball, 2-hand touch, 4 horses, Yoo-Hoos, baseball over the radio. Are Pensie Pinkies available anywhere?

Yes SPALDEENS ARE BACK! …

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Yes SPALDEENS ARE BACK! and you can get yours ONLINE for only $1.69 ea. With FREE* Shipping! Why am I offering this? Because I used to live in Brooklyn, and have Great memories of SPALDEEN’s and when I heard they were coming back, I had to be part of it! Get your SPALDEEN at: http://www.juicers.net