Category Archives: Stoopball
I guess I will be considered…
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I guess I will be considered the “old fogey” compared to those who have submitted their messages here. I found this site by accident and read all the letters posted here. I was born Oct 24,1921 in the very old original Bronx Hospital on corner Fulton and 169th St. It originally was a beer brewers mansion. Lived at 813 E 170th St (which does not exist anymore) around the corner from the Loews Boston Road Theatre. Schools: PS40, PS61, PS98, Morris H. S. The Bronx will always remain the great passion of my life. The memories that have been stated by others here are equal to mine. Its not easy to erase the past when it was the best time of our lives. and I grew up during the depression whose only silver lining was that folks had more respect and showed more kindest to each other. That we had less is the reason we created those great games like stickball, stoopball, johnny on a pony, kick the can, hide-go-seek, even potsie, I played that too. Nice talking to “ya old Bronxsites” and thanks for the memories Max
If you can’t find a stoop…
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If you can’t find a stoop buy a few cement blocks and stack them against a wall. When I discovered that Spaldeens were available again I bought two and then built a “stoop” in my basement with about $ 10 worth of concrete blocks. This has been a lot of fun and exercise for this 47 year -old as well as reliving some great memories.
Hi – I grew up in Jackson…
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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.
Hey, seems like I am in…
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Hey, seems like I am in good company with you guys…I am a displaced ex-tomboy from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn living in “Jersey”– my 11 year old son is hopelessly bored–so are his friends–Today I made a Skully Board in the street, melted crayons, and dazzled them with my skill—A guy in a truck came by and saw us–he screamed, “Skullies–you from Brooklyn?” Tomorrow, I look for a Spaldeen. The Stoop is going to be the hard part.
Spaldeens are inherently…
HELLO, I AM 13 AND I JUST…
The program on WNYC brought…
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The program on WNYC brought back many memories of Brooklyn, Quentin Road > between West 4th and 5th street. We played all the games you mentioned and > some variants. Playing Association with a rolled up Daily News or Mirror > for a football or square or triangle using a spaldeen. The dificulty with > square was that Mrs. Deutch had a window between second and third and we > had to avoid a tag as well as the water she threw at us. > We also played Chinese handball both with our hands and and our FEET. We > also had a novel form of stoop ball. It was played on Mr Bock’s “stoop” > with a spaldeen and invisible runners. The stoop was not steps but a > “correctly” slanted wall surrounding his lawn. Mr. Bock was also an a > constant thorn in our side by calling the police. > During WWII we play “Commando Tactics”. At dark we would meet and find a > route thru the yards of a neighborhood. It was more than once people in > their homes would come out to see who was there. It was a miracle that we > had no ‘wounded”. > Thanks for the memories!! >
I grew up in the Fredrick…
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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!!!