Category Archives: Stickball
I grew up on 181st between…
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I grew up on 181st between Vyse and Bryant in the Bronx. (right around the corner from the Bronx Zoo-South enterance “West Farms Square”) We called it skully. Had to go 1-13 and around the center and back down to become a killer. If you ended up in the sections around 13 you were stuck till someone hit you out. We all had different size caps filled with wax. When it rained we played on the linoleum in my bedroom (6 story walk up) that had flowers located in the in the shape of the “skully”. I am now a Phys Ed teacher in Phoenix and we play skully, stickball, one wall handball, off the curb, punch ball and Johnny on the Pony. The kids love thses games and I really enjoy the memories while playing with them.
My brothers John and Tim…
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My brothers John and Tim and I always played stickball in our native Canarsie, the center of Brooklyn and the world, to us. Charlie Stella always bragged about his ability to consistently whack a two sewer hit and was usually willing to back up the brag with a bet in which the loser had to spring for a slice of pizza and an Italian Ices at Joe’s Pizzeria. Now and then errant balls would hit cars and windows which would lead to the local beat cop ambling along. He’d collect our sticks and break them in half in the very sewer in which Charlie’s best shots would bounce off of. We would then resort to stoop ball, until we got our hands on more broomsticks and black tape. There wasn’t a house on our block that contained a broom that was more than two feet long!
I grew-up in Philly (Onley)…
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I grew-up in Philly (Onley) and remember playing both Half-Ball and Wire-Ball as described by Spredhaus. We lived on a street that dead-ended into the railroad tracks, so there was little through traffic except for the trucks going into and out of the factory across the street. We also played a one-bounce pitch version of Punch-Ball. Curb-Ball and Stoop-Ball (or Step-Ball) was common when there were fewer kids around, although we had so many kids getting a Punch-Ball game together was pretty easy
When I lived in Valley Stream,…
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When I lived in Valley Stream, just over the line from Queens in the early fifties, I played a game called Tip-Cat. It had the same “rules” as stick ball. I was very young (seven) when I last played the game. The inherent dangers of the game caused me to retire after I got three stiches in the corner of my eye from a missed Tip-Cat. Actually, my Mom said if I ever played Tip-Cat again, she would kill me herself rather than having me lose an eye! A Tip-Cat was a stick about six inches long and fatter in the middle than both ends. The Tip-Cat was placed on the ground in front of the batter. The batter took his bat (any good broom handle) and would strike downward on the end of the Tip-Cat. The Tip-Cat would then “jump” up into the air and the batter would hit it like any pitched ball. The fielders had to catch this flying stick in the air to get a chance to get up to bat. Runs were scored the same as stick ball. I cannot believe I ever played a game like this, but I was only seven and the other players were older. It really is amazing that anyone playing this game survived with any eyesight.
What about “chips” on the…
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What about “chips” on the ball. I think we argued more about who owed who a new spaldeen after one either split or was hit further (or to some forbidding spot)than anyone cared to chase, than whether a pitch was a strike or whether a ball that landed on the sewer was a single double or what. It’s great that the spaldeen is back, though I’ve yet to find a place selling it here in Baltimore.
Where and when can I buy…
Pennsie Pinkies were made…
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Pennsie Pinkies were made by Penn. They are the core of a tennis ball. Good pinkies were given a coat & sent to the tennis clubs. Rejects were sent to the cities to be punished. Pennsies were softer, and a little stickier, even though they were a bit smoother than Spaldeens (Spalding). Best for box baseball (easier to pinch & spin), punchball & other bounce sensitive games. Spaldeens were more likely to show up in stickball games (they were 5 cent cheaper). If money was a problem, you went into the corner store & asked for an ‘egg’ ball. These were half-price off-brand (unlabeled) balls that were kinda round, kinda bouncy, and kinda ugly (not always pink).