Category Archives: Spaldeen games
Was it “illegal” to play…
July,1939,The Bronx. Six…
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July,1939,The Bronx. Six of us were playing a pickup game on Daley Ave. (between Tremont and 178th St)right in front of the “Mad Doctor’s” house because it always ticked him off. This day he called the cops. As the Squad car rounded the corner, someone yelled, “Cheese it, the Bulls” We scattered to various spots on the sidewalk and tried to look innocent, so that the cops would just keep going. But they didn’t. The stopped in front of the Doctor’s house who came out and began fingering the guys. The cops herded five of the six ( and the stick) into the Squad Car and hauled them down to the 48th Precinct Station. The 6th player (me) had ducked into a doorway and escaped notice. As soon as the coast was clear, I (like Paul Revere)sounded the alarm to a few parents who had to pay a nickle (each way) to take the Tremont Ave. trolley to the police station and “bail out” their kids. The lectures and the warning didn’t impress us because we were back the next day, right in front of the Doctor’s house playing stickball, curbball, stoopball, slugball, and/or boxball. In those days, we paid 5c for a Leader and 15c for a Spaldeen. One day we found a golf ball and used it to play stoopball until I got a great hit that broke a neighbor’s window. We scattered because we knew she was an old grouch and wouldn’t give back the ball.
In answer to Russian Ten…
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In answer to Russian Ten (I think there was also Russian Seven), I don’t remember the order but some of the things you had to do were throw the ball against the wall and clap once, throw the ball against the wall and clap over and under your leg, throw the ball against the wall and turn around and throw the ball and clap in front and then behind you. These are the only ones I remember. Did you have to catch the ball on a fly or was it allowed to bounce? We used to play that if you could get to five without getting out then you could start you next turn on whichever one you got out on. If you didn’t make it to five then on your next turn you had to start over from one.
half ball as u yankees call…
Spalding were the rejected…
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Spalding were the rejected inerds of the elite used tennis balls. We inner city kids were, in a way, also societal rejects. No leagues, no lessons and barely any grass on which to play. But when the rejected balls were paired with the rejected kids magic arose from the mix. This special bonding of two of the worlds cast-offs could never be matched by anything called a Pensie Pinkie.
Punchball, running bases,…
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Punchball, running bases, kickball, and stickball were the popular games in our parkinglot behind our apartment building. The playing field was an asphalt driveway that was actually wide enough to place bases around the “field”. The driveway was on an incline and homebase was at the bottom of the driveway, so you were always kicking or punching the ball up the hill. The Spaldeen ball was the classic ball for punchball. I would always renew my supply at the candystore, but I would only use my one and only ball until it was forever lost (in the sewer, a car ran over it). My kids are 10 and 12 years old now. At that age I was playing in the street all the time, nothing was organized, no carpools… the housephone rang and someone told you to come outside in the back..We played for hours, going from one game to another, until Rudy, the super, would come chasing after us yelling in his thick German accent, scaring the crap out of us, and breaking up the games.. only for the moment. And then there was Building Tag, where the doorman was base The stories are endless, but I really want to find out where I could buy a Spaldeen ball? Laurie, orginally from Riverdale, the Bronx, now in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
I am from South Philly and…
Chinese Handball. …
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Chinese Handball. We played against the wall of Pete`s Candy Store in Rosedale, Queens. During the late 50`s through the 1960`s Pete`s Candy Store was our handball court of choice. Of course we played Aces,or “A-s“ up … 🙂 … and we usually used a (spelled as it is pronounced) Spaldeene. The spaldeen really did hurt, sometimes leaving a welt. Yeah, some of the guys really threw hard, but fortunately their was only one loser in a group of up to 12 or more of us. Unfortunately, all the guys got to throw at the losers butt. 😉 If you were one of the, probably over 30 to forty players their at the time, I would sure like to see you here. My nick name at the time was, Rosie, Bloom, or worse. ;-a
“By Bruce Deitchman on…
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“By Bruce Deitchman on Wednesday, May 26, 1999 – 12:05 am: Please allow me to share my views on the subject. IMHO, Spaldeens (as they are pronounced) are the proper tool for games such as stickball, however I have found Pennsy Pinkies more appropriate for Chinese handball and boxball.“ I gotta agree with everything the guy above me here says. Additionally, the Spaldeens were great for the game of Steem. Where a few guys choosed up sides and ya pitched the ball to the batter as if it were a hardball. A box for the strike zone was drawn on a wall with chalk behind the batter, and the pitcher paced off (I forget how many) several yards to the chalk drawn pitchers mound. Regular balls and strikes added an more action. Ground rules varied depending on how many players were in the game. This was one of my favorites when I was a young teenager. We usually played in the school yard courtyard. Spaldeens were the ball of choice because of their liveliness bouncing back to the pitcher when the batter missed your pitch. 🙂