Category Archives: Spaldeen games

lol, for Christ’s sake randy…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: frank fletcher jr [e-mail]
 

lol, for Christ’s sake randy rabinowitz…..you made my day….i used to do the same thing with the half spaldeens…..used to stick them to my face, or stick it around my mouth and try to breath….what a dopey kid i was, lol……..or maybe i was just a normal avg kid back then…..as i’m writing this i have a blue rubber ball on my keyboard…closest thing i could find to a spaldeen…anyhow, i also got a stick in my closet….taped and ready in case at the age of 41 someone wants to challenge me…….take it easy

Anyone ever play a game…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Bill H-K [e-mail]
 

Anyone ever play a game called hot box or it’s also known as pickle. My mom actually taught this to my younger brother and I. If you’re not familar with it I will explain it. First you need 2 bases, a ball and at least 3 players. 2 are the basemen and 1 is the base runner. One of the basemen holds the ball with the runner at that base. The runner heads for the other base as soon as the basemen throws the ball to the other basemen. The basemen try to tag the runner while the runner tries to get safe. If the runner is tagged, the runner and basemen who tagged him/her will switch positions.

I’m also from Washington…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Ft. Washington Ave.
 

I’m also from Washington Heights and we called it “slug.” I think you could hit the ball three times in your own box before you had to send it down the line. It’s awesome to have these memories shared by others.

when does the try outs for…

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

when does the try outs for the BX and Mann stilkball teams start….email i would like to try and make a team…..

I grew up in Long Beach…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Tom Rasulo (tomr) [e-mail]
 

I grew up in Long Beach on Long Island in the early 60s. As I recall the Pinsie Pinky was .19 and the Spaldeen .29 The Spaldeen was more durable but the Pinky really flew if you hit it on the nose with a good stickball bat. Now I have a 14 year old and we live in Mission Viejo Califonia. I don’t understand it, he’s a Yankee fan and loves to play stickball with me at least twice a week as long as my 51 year old arm can take it. I had to have relatives from NY send us a real stckball bat from Spalding and a few dozen balz. These are great memories to share and make with him. …Tom

I’m on the job as a magazine…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: jack z, Brooklyn in exile
 

I’m on the job as a magazine designer, looking for an image of a spaldeen. No time to read the postings here, so this is probably not news, but… the image you have here leaves out the most important feature of a spaldeen, the seam. Without it, curve-ball/screw-ball pitchers like me would have been tatooed all over the park. As spaldeen made the balls cheaper and cheaper, the seams became even more outrageous. It doesn’t get any more rewarding than when you and the batter are cracking up over the dipsy doodles those balls used to take.

If there is anyone who lives…

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

If there is anyone who lives in Pa and is interested in getting together to play on the weekend please let me know. Also if there is a team outside of Pa who is willing to meet somewhere midway that would be great…… For anyone who has played this game, there is nothing like those memorable plays that last a life time, and keep you playing the game. Anyone who has played the game knows it

My Dad, Vito Giannone, I’m…

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

My Dad, Vito Giannone, I’m sure was one of the greatest stickball players ever in his prime, and definitely if measured by his love of the game. He lived stickball, looked forward to it all week, and played all day Sunday. It keep him going, it was when he was his happiest. We flew to Puerto Rico for the stickball championship one year and I realized what a true family all of the players were. My Dad passed away a few years ago after an illness that took his sight and his hearing . . . but through it all he still loved to clench that stickball bat which we kept by his bedside. I would love to hear any memories you have of my Dad. I miss him a lot, and the stories he told over and over about the game he loved and the people he came to regard as family. My Dad was the nicest man I ever knew, he went straight to heaven and did not have to stop along the way, and he’s already started a stickball team up there . . . thank you,

I remember playing stickball…

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

I remember playing stickball (fast pitch wall ball against the school wall in the summer months from early morning until the sun set and we could no longer see the ball. Unlike most of the games played in NYC, those of us on Long Island that played usually used a tennis ball instead of a pinkee ball. The advantage of using a tennis ball was it couldn’t be hit as far. This was critical if you were playing on a small field. It was also great for pitching because the seams on a tennis ball are shaped exactly like a baseball and you can throw all of the same types of pitches (curve, screw, 2 & 4 seam fastball, etc). Actually, you can get a lot more movement on a tennis ball than you can with a baseball. One of the great things I remember about stickball was the ability to get a game going just about anywhere at any time. Our group of kids used to go from school yard to school yard and play against anyone who was willing to play. Those were some great times.