Category Archives: Stickball

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Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Barry Lawson Lifshitz [e-mail]
 

To be able to play on Andrews Avenue (West Bronx) each player had to be able to hit a minimum of a sewer. Two Sewers and you were a Strong hitter. Ron & myself were Three sewer hitters making us the Home Run Kings. On rare occasions you hit both Three sweres & over the Six(6) story building. Rules were as previously mentioned – Down The Line – Right car was First – Second was Middle Sewer- Left car was Third. Lived for THIS game – Also same game without Bat was Punchball.

I was thinking of the games…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Mark Podhorzer [e-mail]
 

I was thinking of the games we used to play with a Spaldeen. There were games for only one person up through a full baseball team. As I remember them they were: 1 Person Catch with yourself- throw the ball up and catch it. Practicing your pitching against a box on the wall Throwing the ball against the wall to see how high you could throw it. On the roof was the ultimate Throwing the ball off the wall (or stoop) and practicing your catching ability. 2 Persons Box Baseball Hit the penny. Stickball Catch American Handball, paddle ball, etc. Off the wall Stoopball 3 Persons Monkey in the middle Running Bases Salugi (?) or keep away Chinese handball Larger Groups Punchball Slapball I’m sure there are more. But for 25 cents, nothing could beat thatbeautiful pink ball with the word Spaulding stamped on it. We didn’t need our parents making schedules, driving us all over the place. Just us and a little ball, and we were in heaven for hours. Mark Podhorzer Now of Atlanta GA, but in my heart always from Brooklyn

We statred out using an…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Stu Hoffman [e-mail]
 

We statred out using an old mop handle as our “stick,” but as we got older we would pool our money and go to the local lumber yard and buy a 32-34″ piece of closet pole and wrap the bottom with black sticky electric tape (before the pine tar era). We even graduated to an old beaten up tennis ball rather than a pinky.

In our neighborhood (Boro…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Stu Hoffman [e-mail]
 

In our neighborhood (Boro Park section of Brooklyn) street stickball was played “up the middle.” No pulling the ball beyond the street curbs or parked cars (which were in play). It was strickly an up the middle hit or an out. We played the “one bounce” version which allowwed tricks on the ball to increase the ball movement and give the defense an edge.

Ken Edwards Brighton…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: kennydale [e-mail]
 

Ken Edwards Brighton Beach 50’s and 60’s. You would wake up in the morning and wait. Soon you would hear, “Hey Kenny, could you come out?” If your parents were up, you would say, “Ma, can I go out and play?” In about 20 minutes, you had about 10 to 20 friends trying to figure out what to do first. Sometimes it was stickball, sometimes dodgeball, sometimes it was skelly or chinese handball. If it was too early in the morning, water would be flying out of somebody’s window and they would yell, “can’t you kids play elsewhere, it is too early in the morning.” No matter what, you were with a group of friends. This lasted till your mother popped her head out of the window and yelled your name to come home. 4 October 1997

How about “Corner Ball”….

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: John C [e-mail]
 

How about “Corner Ball”. A four corner intersection was the “field” creating a “diamond”. Needless to say, a Spaldeen was the ball of policy and proceedure. No catcher position was required. The “Batter” took the ball in hand and hit it off the curb. If he missed the curb or hit it foul, he was out. All other rules of stickball applied, (although I can honestly say i have never heard of a guy “roofing it” in curb ball). In the summer on Briggs Avenue, we’d play at least 10-12 games a day while a bunch of other guys would be playing stickball. Now that I think about it, I guess corner ball allowed us to make room for another game to be played simultaneously while you waited to get on the stickball “field”. Of course, at least 4 guys would be off on the side with a game of “Off the Point” going, but that’s a whole other game.