Tag Archives: I grew up…

I grew up in Ridgewood,…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in Ridgewood, Brooklyn during the late sixties and we used to play Skellsy amidst the street traffic. We never filled our caps with any kind of substance, but my buddy Joe, who grew up in Howard Beach tells me he used to melt crayon wax into his caps for added weight. He and I have debated for years the correct name of this beloved game. He called it skullys and I called it Skellsy. I guess we were both right.

I grew up in the E. Flatbush…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in the E. Flatbush section of Brooklyn. One of my memories is of touch football games in the street. There’d be a group of kids, 10 and 11 years old, hanging oout on the stoop. We’d start getting cold and decide to do something, someone would suggest a game of touch. Back then, both boys and girls could play. In fact, the girls were usually a little faster than the boys, so would really be able to get a jump on them in the long pass. The boys were stronger, but it was great to see the look on the guys face when this one girl, who was kind of whiny, got a step on him and ran for the score.

I grew up on 4th Avenue…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up on 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The R Train (4th Avenue Local -The “RR” or Ridge Runner back then) traveled the length of 4th Avenue to 95th Street. Every other block had subway ventilation grates (known as the “subway gratings”) on the sidewalk near the curb. People would drop coins and other “stuff” down there. To get them out, you assembled a “fishing” kit: A 3 ounce lead fishing sinker A ball of string (kite string was good) A jar of Vaseline Take the lead sinker, and scrape and smash the pointed bottom on the sidewalk until it is flattened. Our string used to be wrapped around a small stick. Tie the string on the sinker, and dab Vaseline on the flattened end of it. Walk along the gratings until you see a coin. Lower the sinker, and moving carefully, hover just above the coin. When the sinker steadies, drop it on the coin. (Here you have to be careful… if you miss, the sinker will hit the bottom of the air shaft and the Vaseline gets full of dirt and loses its stickiness). After “catching” the coin, pull it up slowly… if you go too fast, the coin will fall off. Many times you would get a coin all the way to the top, but when maneuvering the sinker and coin through the grating, it would hit the side and the coin would fall off. There always seemed to be lots of coins nearer to Bay Ridge Avenue (69th Street). The local lore had it that people rushing for the train would drop their change.

I grew up in the South Bronx…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in the South Bronx on E 142nd between Willis and Third Ave, back in the early 50s. I was the smallest kid on the block. Whenever we played stickball, the ball would inevitably end up going downhill into the sewer on Third Ave. The big kids would remove the grating, give me a coat hanger with a loop at the end of it and lower me down head first holding me by the ankles. I’d reach down with the coat hanger get it under the ball, scoop it up and toss it to the guys. Sometimes there would be other balls in there for awhile. you could tell because the submerged half would be a different color than the top. This was considered a real good thing by the guys cause we wouldn’t have to go and get 10 cents for a ball. My mom didn’t like it cause I’d come home smelling likt the sewer. One time when I was about 8 or 9 she really got disgusted, she stripped me down, threw me in the tub and beat the sh** out of me while scrubbing me down and yelling. Even that didn’t stop me. Being part of the boys was more important.

I grew up in Greenpoint…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in Greenpoint and we would play 4 corner slapball. We played in the middle of the street on the corner of Jackson and Leonard Streets. In the summer we’d play all day and during the school year we’d play as soon as we got homt. This was a major intersection so we had to be careful and to stop whenever the cars came. By 4:30 it started getting pretty hectic. We also had a sewer on one corner so we had to be real careful not to let the ball go down otherwise you had to fish it out. You couldn’t hit the ball on the fly – just ground balls. If you hit it over the infield you were out. Five guys or more could play per team. We’d play everyday using either the Spaldeen or Pensie Pinkie.

I grew up in the East End…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in the East End of London. We were really into bikes, riding all over and beyond the neighborhood. We couldn’t afford new bikes so we made them out of parts we found scrapyards, or pieces we’d purchase Back then, in the early 70’s, Evil Knievel had just hit the streets of London. We all tried to copy him with our bikes. I remember one time I set up a jump in the backyard. It couldn’t have been more than 2 or 3 feet max, but when I landed I couldn’t stop. My mom wasn’t too happy when I came crashing through her back door.

I grew up in the western…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in the western suburbs of Minneapolis. There were lots of kids hanging out, as we’d all get kicked out of the house all day. We’d usually play baseball all day in the brief summers, but the rest of the year offered other playtime activities. In the winter could have as many as 30 kids in a giant snowball fight. We’d be running from one block to the other, and build big snowball forts and you’d try to capture from the other gang. There were always these forts in different stagers of repair When we were young teenagers, 13-15, during the warmer weather, we could steal lumber from these new housing construction sites and build tree houses. Sometimes there would be 10 kids involved (there’s nothing you couldn’t do with a critical mass of kids). We would get these big sheets of plywood and cut them around the branches, creating these elaborate multi-storied houses. We wouldn’t have ‘official clubs” and didn’t really hang out as much as just build the things. Still no girls were allowed. The houses would last a couple of years although they might get taken over by gangs from another neighborhood or vandalized by kids who might be mad at you. One time a contractor who got mad at us for stealing the wood sent a bulldozer over. They wrapped a big chain around the house and pulled it right our of the tree. This was the biggest one we had ever created literally 5 stories high, skewed all around the tree to fit in. That house was the culmination of our architectural endeavors. When it was pulled down, we were ready to move on.

I grew up in Ridgewood on…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in Ridgewood on the border of Brooklyn and Queens. We played stickball on a short street which was on a hill with first and third painted in (2nd was the sewer). We would hit by ourselves (no pitching), with 2 strikes. The thing was that if you hit it over the roof before second base you were out and if you hit it over the roof over 2nd base across the block, you won the games. These rules were to protect the ball from being lost. Neighbors were not particularly happy about us playing in the street, we were loud, the ball might break a window, land on the porch, etc. so they’d call the police. If the cops would come and catch us they’d stick the broom handle in the holes of the manhole cover and snap the bat, so we’d have someone on watch who would call out “Chickee the cops” if he saw them coming. If warned we’d hide the bats by rolling them under the cars next to the curb. To this day I still can’t throw out a broom handle.

I grew up in the “projects”…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
[e-mail]"; } ?>
 

I grew up in the “projects” on Balcom Ave. When I moved into the projects they were brand spanking new. The things I remember most were my very cool friends having a very cool time. But I guess my fondest memories were of PS72, most foreigners (not of New York) get very confused about the PS. I had my first 2 loves there….my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Carson, and a blond blue eyed girl in my 2nd grade class. As you can see I had a hard time keeping them from finding out about eachother….but I was smooth. This site brings back such great memories. A toast….to “DA BRONX”.