YO,I USE TO LIVE ON WEST FARMS ROAD ON THE CORNER OF HOME STREET AND LONGFELLOW THATS WHERE WE USE TO PLAY STICKBALL, SOMTIMES WE USE TO PLAY ON BRYANT AVE.I STUDIED AT P.S.66,SO IF ANY OF THE GUYS FROM THE OLD BLOCK READS THIS DON’T FORGET TO WRITE.THAT I REMEMBER NOW THEY WERE FELIX,JOHNNY,AND JIMMY CLASS THESE GUYS WERE BROTHERS,THERE WAS CARLITOS,EVERYBODY KNEW ME AS PEEWEE.WE PLAYED ALL THE OTHER GAMES ALSO.
Hi, I am not sure if this game I played in the in the mid 70’s was made up in my neighborhood or not, but it was a form of stickball, we called it SCOONY. We played in a bocce ball court, a pitcher, catcher , second baseman all were inside the bocce court. A centerfielder stood outside the bocce court wall. and the first and third basemen stood just outside the court lined up with their base. The pitcher pitched the ball on one bounce, spining the ball if he wanted. We played with rules of baseball, bunting, stealing, tagging up but when you tried to steal, you could not take a lead, and could only steal AFTER the catcher caught the ball. Another rule was that the batter MUST bat his opposite hand, (right must bat left)and for a bunt to be legal, it had to pass a FOUL line drawn into the sand before the game started. This game was very entertaining and we played it for hours. We used a pinky or a spaldeen, and sometimes a tennis ball ( if we couldnt buy a spaldeen). For a bat we used either a broom handle or a store bought stick ball bat.If anyone else played this game, please email me at muns0n015 [at] aol [dot] com and tell me about. I grew up in Long Island City ( QUEENS )
This is a South Bronx tale: the setting is mid to late ’60s, Kelly Street 10 hundreds block = longer than most with wall to wall five story tenement buildings. We played stickball starting from the second fire-hydrant sewer lid (homeplate) towards the end of the block. Anything over the “wire” not caught was an automatic homerun. Only two guys ever hit the ball onto the roof of 1069 thanks to a favorable wind: Manny and Junior. We seldom played pitch ball but rather bounced the ball before hitting it or hit it in the air. Balls stuck on fire-escapes or on the roof before the “wire” were outs, down the basements were doubles. sidewalks were all you can run. The wire was a cable hanging across the street behind the second sewer lid which was a few feet behind second base. Only players from our street were allowed to toss their sneakers onto the wire. Those trophies were never taken down. When there weren’t enough guys to play a game, two guys with bats would hit the ball back and forth one from homeplate and the other from the third sewer lid towards homeplate. Spaldeens were the prefered ball, used also for slugs off the wall of Mr. Friar’s building 1045 Kelly Street; or hitting off the stoop of 1048 Kelly Street. Louie, Jorge, Mickey, Augie, Joel, Victor, Junior, Moses, George Pinocchio were the regulars. Stickball on Kelly Street died in 1978 when the whole block was nuked for redevelopment. We also played a mean game of skelzies and had the best aerial kite battles between glass-cord diamonds and razorblade sneekies. Those were the days!
I played stick ball all summer as a kid. Our field was in the middle of the street with the light pole being the home run fence. It was not far or high but if you hit the ball to high you hit the tree that covered home plate. The best thing about a pimple ball was that if you didn’t hit it exactly right you would “EGG” the ball. This was the challenge. We played halfies into a chair. You got one swing. If you didn’t swing and the halfie hit the chair you were out. Once pimple balls left the scene, tennis ball took over. we lost interest in playing because any idiot could hit a tenis ball. Halfies with tennis balls was just not the same. Unfortunatly, Sony playstation has taken over kids spare time. How long before they have Sony PSP Halfies 2007 ?
In late 1930 there was a team in east harlem called the “Black Diomonds” they were a great team. Jimmy powers sports editor of the daily news used to write about them. Newsweek, had an artical about them also. I am 79 and remember a few of the player by ther first names. There is one player who was know as the Babe Ruth of the team.His name (only one I know by the full name)Johnny Brunelli and belongs in the hall of fame.For more info contact me at e-mail ..abbey47 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
We used to use broom sticks for bats and when someone yelled “chickie, the cops” we hid them…. for fear the cops would take them …. and i was reading somebody was looking for a aluminum bat? the game has changed…. hey i still remember the sewer is second base……sliding into the tire of a car climbing up the six flights of stairs because someone hit a home run up on the roof … we only had one ball…. great memories…. Tom Ryan 188st washington heights new york