Category Archives: Stickball

I just watched Sonia Gonzalez’s…

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I just watched Sonia Gonzalez’s documentary on Stickball last night and got the chance to see and hear Steve, and it really hurts that he was taken from us. He was a hero, a true lover of the game, and a good person. It is touching to read all the comments on this site. I played stickball in the north Bronx in the 50’s and am so glad it was kept alive and strong by new generations. I felt close to so many of the people who appeared in the film and the spirit they showed. Soon I’ll make a journey back to the borough of my birth and childhood days, to Stickball Boulevard (Steve Mercado Way).

I don’t have much to add,…

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I don’t have much to add, so forgive me for repeating anything: Spaldeens cost about 25 cents in the 1960’s in my neighborhood in The Bronx near Morris Avenue and 164th Street. Occasionally Harry’s candy store sold “seconds” for about 15 cents or twenty cents. The Five and Ten on Morris Avenue sold P Pensie Pinkies, which I remember as softer and inferior balls — they were for girls’ games. They were not the ball of choice for the boys. And new Spaldeens had some kind of powder on them — and had a distinctive smell. And some were harder than other — those are the ones you wanted, because they bounced better. We didn’t play stick ball on my block but we played Slug — also known as King Queen Jack on some blocks — who remembers that game? It was played in the boxes on the sidewalk, against the apartment house wall — WHO REMEMBERS SLUG?

I don’t know how far apart…

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I don’t know how far apart the manhole covers were where I played, but there were players that could hit a spaldeen four sewers on teams in the South Bronx, Harlem and Little Italy. You didn’t see it often. Only the hard hitters could do it and they usually were Chops with the wind. This was back in the 1950’s.

I don’t know how far apart…

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I don’t know how far apart the manhole covers were where I played, but there were players that could hit a spaldeen four sewers on teams in the South Bronx, Harlem and Little Italy. You didn’t see it often. Only the hard hitters could do it and they usually were Chops with the wind. This was back in the 1950’s.

As measured via Google Earth,…

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As measured via Google Earth, on our Queens street the sewer manhole covers were 150 to 160 feet apart. Only the stronger, older teens could hit a spaldeen two sewers (300 to 320 feet), and even then it was not common. I believe that in older sections of the city the manhole covers were often closer, perhaps 100 feet apart.

I am from Flushing Queens,…

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I am from Flushing Queens, where we would usually buy Pensie Pinkies and Spaldeens from Joe’s, which was the nearest candy store. Sometimes when I had no money, I ‘d swipe a Pensie from my sister, who, along with her friends, used them mostly in an activity that involved keeping the ball in bounce while reciting different rhymes that were punctuated by passing their legs over the ball before it would bounce back up. I lived on a hill where many of these balls ended up in the sewer at the end of the block. You could retrieve them using a garden rake, but if they remained in the water too long, they almost certainly went dead. We used to play stick ball, box ball, Chinese handball, catch a fly and you’re up, and many, many more games using them. As I recall, the favored brand for stickball at least, was Spalding, but I never observed too much difference between the two.

Oh, the memories. Spaldeens…

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Oh, the memories. Spaldeens ruled, anything else was second rate. I keep one in my car to this day. In the Dyker Heights section we used the Spaldeen for everything,slap ball, punch ball , handball, cather-flyers-up, stoop ball, box ball, stickball. Didn’t know pensies existed till we moved to Nassau County. We would use them if local candy store was out of spaldeens or we couldn’t put together the 25 cents for the real deal.

OK, fast pitch stike ball….

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OK, fast pitch stike ball. We played at several school yards around the Kings Highway Coney Island Ave area. PS 153 on East 12th st Between Ave S and Ave T had a small fast pitch field. We chaulked a strike box on a wall. We would us either a “Spaldeen” High Bouce or a tennis ball which we had rubbed all the covering just about off. What were our favority pitches. Fast ball, Curve ball and screw ball. The PS 153 field had a short fence about 30 feet high on the north behind the pitcher. On the other side of the fence was what appeared at that time to be a large house with a black iron short fence around it. I think the rules were: off the fence catch and out, ground past the pitcher, single; hit the lower part of the fence – double; hit the upper part of the fence- triple; hit over the fence home run. Hitting over the fence required that you carryfully sneak into the yard (Mrs. Hardish/) and try to recover you ball.

G. Gallagher is absolutely…

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G. Gallagher is absolutely correct. Kelly park on East 15th St and AVE S. The entrance was of Ave S about 150 feet east of East 15th ST. Walk in, and we had swing sets all the way to the left against the 15th St Fence. In front of that on the left of entrance was what I recall were paddle tennis courts. Behind the paddle tennis courts to the north and west were some stone Chess tables. On the right side of the entrance, we had a full court basketball court and all the way to the right, or up against the BMT line were two hand ball courts. beyond the basketball court going north, you and a large open feild area that was paved in blacktop With two softball diamonds. A homeplate on the North East corner of the field and one on the southwest corner. As I recall, the size of the field was somethink like 250 or 300 feet east to west and about 170 feet north to south. To the north of the softball field were I believe 6 or 7 tennis courts. Spent many a summer day playing softball, stick ball, Squash and tennis at this location.