Category Archives: Punchball
Simply put, I preferred…
I was born in the Bronx…
I was born in the Bronx in 1947. 29 west 181st St between Burnside Ave and Davidson Ave. Went to PS 91 near University Ave then Creston JHS and De Witt Clinton. Played stickball, punchball, PBC(Pitcher, Batter Catcher) Grand Concourse was the greatest- Lowes Paradise, Krums, Alexanders. Love to hear from anyone!!
In Bayside, Queens, during…
In Bayside, Queens, during the early 1950s, there was a game played at PS 41. It was called “double wall” and was a variant of stickball. Two players, batter and pitcher, and the batter had to hit a ball that bounced between the two walls. The more the better. We also played punchball, and I always wondered if this game originated, or was popularized during WWII, with limited space/only one spaldeen required. Bob
PS 66 in Richmond Hill Queens…
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.
Well I would be considered…
Well I would be considered a baby to most of you. I’m 21. I lived at 2055 Cruger Ave, Pelham Parkway/Bronx Park East area, across from PS 105. Went to that school, until 6th grade, JHS 127 in Castle Hill, and Dodge VHS in Fordham. I lived on Cruger untill I was 20 years old and and now I live on 184th st and Park Ave. I remember playing off the stoop, skelly, asses up, brake the chain, steal the bacon, stickball, punchball, jumping rooftops, hiding in Parkchester projects, ect.. Now I travel all over the Bronx to play handball. It’s so great to hear about how the Bronx was back in the days. Please tell all the stories you can. Up until now I felt like I was the only one defending the Bronx. Although my mom and dad grew up on 149th street, I don’t get to hear the real stories about how it was back than.
Hi – I grew up in Jackson…
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.
definitely, was pretty good…
I grew up in the Fredrick…
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!!!