The ONLY acceptable, official ball to use in my neighborhood in da Bronx to play stickball, punchball, stoopball etc. was the GREAT Spaldeen. We use to pick up two ball at once, hold them at about eye level then let them drop to see which one bounced higher. We’d do this until the candy store owner screamed “Hey you kids..stop makin’ my balls dirty”. Then we’d have to make a quick choice and buy it.
How about those little celluloid dolls that we bought for a nickle at the corner candy store(Berky’s,in my neighborhood ). This was before plastics, can you imagine? they had moveable arms and legs attached by a bit of elastic.We sat on the stoop and sewed clothing for them for hours on end, This was in the N.Bx.in the thirties . Are you out there somewhere Ruth Fox? Your father owned a lingerie factory and you had lovely scraps of silk and satin for doll dresses.
In my neighborhood (Brownsville, Brooklyn), a Spaldeen was 15 cents–too steep for a lot of kids. An alternative was an ugly, underinflated, evil-smelling, grayish-pink ball with crudely vulcanized hemispheres that we used to call the “eggball.” It got that name because, no matter where you hit it with a stickball bat, it’d go almost straight up, and oscillate wildly in an egg shape. Impossible to catch without it squirting out of your hands. Stickball games were won on lopsided margins on errors alone using eggballs. If we were really lucky, the local toy store or candy store would get a load of “seconds”–Spaldeens that were defective in some way, so they had “second” stamped on them. They were 8 cents or a dime, and were a real bargain.
Remember playing with “cutouts”? Paper dolls that came in books–the dolls were on the cover, and a whole assortment of clothes was inside. We cut out the dolls, dressed them, and sat on the top step of our stoops playing for ages and ages. A world of fashion and fantasy for a dime–or a quarter for the good, heavyweight cut-out books. My friends Maria and Starlet and I bought our cutout books at Miltie’s candy store (on Dahill Road, Brooklyn). We kept the paper dolls and the clothes in shoe boxes. We had whole families–I remember that my favorite “mother” doll was Sheree North! (Celebrity cutout books were big!) Her family was usually baby triplets, who came in another book. This was several years before Barbie dolls, and I suspect we had just as much fun with the paper dolls as girls do with their Barbies today (if not more!).
I remember that there were 2 tests you gave a ball to check it. First you bounced to see if it was dead or live. Second, you sqeezed it to see if it was cracked, soft or hard. Once, I was in the candy store and a little kid was buying an egg ball and wanted to check it out. He innocently asked the store owner: “George, can I squeeze your balls”. We cracked up and the kid did not understand why. Remember stoop ball and 5 boxes.
Chinese Handball. We played against the wall of Pete`s Candy Store in Rosedale, Queens. During the late 50`s through the 1960`s Pete`s Candy Store was our handball court of choice. Of course we played Aces,or “A-s“ up … 🙂 … and we usually used a (spelled as it is pronounced) Spaldeene. The spaldeen really did hurt, sometimes leaving a welt. Yeah, some of the guys really threw hard, but fortunately their was only one loser in a group of up to 12 or more of us. Unfortunately, all the guys got to throw at the losers butt. 😉 If you were one of the, probably over 30 to forty players their at the time, I would sure like to see you here. My nick name at the time was, Rosie, Bloom, or worse. ;-a
The PS/JHS 79 schoolyard in Da Bronx was the best place in the world when I was growing up. We had THREE fields in which to play stickball – one for fungo/running bases, two for pitching in. The fungo field became the football field in the fall and winter. We had two punchball areas, a full-court basketball area, a place to place off the point and 3 Steps to Germany… Two great candy stores, a great grocery store, two delis, a pizza place and the BEST luncheonette (the Village Green) all within a couple of blocks of the yard. What more could a kid want or need??
The Spaldeens would break more easily, but they were real. The Pennsy Pinkies? They bounced great, but we couldn’t afford them–Phil’s Candy Store on 36th St & Clara sold plain ol’ “pinkies” that were pink, yellow, or blue! They were 15 cents when the Spaldeen was 25 cents. But the pinkies were awful. Where can I buy a Spaldeen? I swear, I have taught 5 kids in Vermont to play stickball (we pitch in against my brick chimney), and they love it! With a tennis ball, no less! Help–we need a real Spaldeen!!!!
Well I hungout in Harveys Candy Store on St.Johns Place and Nostrand Avenue..all the guys did..just a tiny hold in the wall but we had credit! Owner Tom Harvey kept our debts on index cards and let us know when we failed to play..pinball machine..it was a wonder we could all crowd in on rainy days..all ended with WWII..love thinking about it though. John