Category Archives: Spaldeen games

Reporting from Parkchester…

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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 Long Beach…

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I grew up in Long Beach on Long Island in the fifties, where we played the fast pitch version of stickball…a “strike zone” chalked on a wall and a long asphalt school yard to blast away at. We used the distance demarkation method for single-double-triple etc, and the same strikeout, caught grounder or caught fly for outs. There was no base running; stickball in Long Beach did little for aerobic fitness. We used broomsticks and two brands of pink rubber balls. Preferred was the Spaulding version, prenounced “Spauldeen.” Amazingly, “SPAULDING” was imprinted on the ball, we could all read, yet swore by that pronunciation. The other ball was the less desireable Pensy Pinky, which didn’t bounce as well, and also a had greater propensity to be disassembled by a solid top-spin whack. Two halves flew from the bat. Was that a single or a double? I was not a good hitter because I developed a tendency to flinch very early on. In my first game, as a fifth grader, I ducked a close pitch but stood up too quickly. The rebound off the wall whapped me right in the ear. Talk about sting! I can still feel it.

I have been trying to remember…

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I have been trying to remember a similiar spaldeen game to Russian 10, however, the rules I remember are a little different: 1 – one (throw ball and clap once) 2 – twos(throw ball and clap twice) 3 – threes (throw ball and clap 3x) 4 – highzies (throw ball up high) 5 – lowzies (throw ball low) 6 – around the world (throw ball and roll arms) 7 – touch my shoulders 8 – touch my toes 9 – under your leg then you do it in combination. Anyone know anymore or how the “song” goes?

Rules For Russian Ten: 1-…

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Rules For Russian Ten: 1- Throw against the wall and catch 2- bounce on the ground and catch 3- clap and catch 4- roll your hands and catch 5- under your leg and catch 6- clap over and under your leg and catch 7- clap in front and back and catch 8- turn(back towards wall) throw, turn around and catch 9- hit the spot where the wall meets the floor and catch 10- place hand on wall, toss ball under your hand and over the top and catch

I grew up in the Fredrick…

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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…

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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

Jerry or Zach —I just…

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Jerry or Zach —I just bought a doze “pink balls and have a game of halfball with my son convincing him that I was not crazy talking about fullmoons–halfmoons –and sidearm sliders –I used to play at 13th and Wolf against a building belonging to Methodist Hosptal—Let me know if you ever feel like playing some halfball

Alley bat was played in…

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Alley bat was played in a school yard or an alley wide enough to accommodate a boy swinging a broom stick (the stick ball bat). The batter stood at a wall facing the pitcher. On the wall behind the batter there was a strike zone drawn using chalk. Usually the entire zone was chalked in. The pitcher threw fast balls, curves, etc. at the batter. Three strikes and a batter was out. Three out and the pitcher and batter exchanged places. When the ball was hit, where it landed or struck the surrounding structure determined if it was a single, double, triple, home run or foul ball. Nine innings were played as in baseball. The spaldeen was used, but a tennis ball could also be used. If the batter did not swing at a pitch, a ball or strike was determined by where it hit the wall. If out of the strike zone it was a ball and no chalk was on the ball. In the zone was a strike and the proof was in the chalk.