I grew up in Crown Heights. I’m from a family of 7 children, 5 boys and 2 girls. My brothers would never let me hang out and play stickball, probably because i was really and I could beat them. They wouldn’t let me play – but I played anyway. i plaed hopscotch, stoopball, all those games you have. Some of my best times was doing that. I enjoyed being a Tom boy.
I grew up on 6th street between Prospect park West and 8th Ave. There was a bunch of older kids on the block who didn’t think I could hit the ball. They finally gave me a chance to take a swing – I almost hit it to the park – about 1/3 of the block from the park. They couldn’t believe, but always let me play after that
Kissies – I haven’t heard that in years. Where was your favorite place to play jacks? Mine was on a painted concrete porch, preferably just swept with a broom. Did you play with ten jacks and pick up the jack while the ball was bouncing? Then, you would transfer the jacks to the other hand and catch the ball with the hand that picked up the jacks (like everything with your right hand)? I’m sure different areas played differently just as we sang different songs to jumprope. I grew up in Baltimore and that’s how we played.
This is mostly hearsay, but I do know that this game was played in inner-city Wilmington, Delaware ( I have many friends from there) in the mid-80’s under the name “relievio” and games lasted several days, and encompassed several square miles of territory. Each team had a home base, and “teams” would remain constant throught a summer, with challenges being issued from one team to another and lasting until one team or the other was finally all caught. Players had “positions” to play, and teams typically encompased ages from 6 to 16. I grew up in southern New Hampshire, and we had a similar game called “team tag” (OK, we’re bland and had no creativity). It was like the New York version of “ringaleavio” with a single team being “it” though there was no real hiding, since we played in an open field. Players were freed from, Jail via a single tag, and a whole line of players could form so long as one was actuall topuching “jail.”
I grew up in Greenpoint Brooklyn on Manhattan Ave. I was making my communion in May of ’61. Before we went to church my buddies Kevin and Rob were on India Street playing stickball. There was still an hour before we had to leave, so I snuck out of the apartment while my mother wasn’t looking. I didn’t have time to change out of my suit. We were winning by 1 run until I tripped on my way to second, and shredded the knees right off my communion pants. I had ten minutes before I had to be at St. Cyril’s to make my communion so I rushed home, picturing my mothers angry expression when she’d see my torn suit. My mother was furios, but we got to church only a couple minutes late.
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.
I grew up in West Philly in the 70’s. what we called “Box Ball” was played on a “baseball diamond” (anything would do…never on a real field) played with a tennis ball, pink rubber ball (solid) , or a white rubber ball (hollow). The game was played like baseball except instead of a pitcher the batter would drop the ball and hit the ball with their fist.. aiming at someone they felt couldn’t field or just over someones head… and you would run the bases and score like in baseball.. 3 outs per inning… never heard of what everyone else calls “box ball” anyone else out there that remembers playing such a game and what you may of called it????
I would love for anyone who knows about chinese jumprope, please let me know where I can get illustrations on doing this. I grew up with this and I would love to teach my daughter. I know there is ways to do neat things with your hands and also with the feet. Thank you Codie3569 [at] aol [dot] com
My mother’s “calling out” became a thorn in my side, one that my mother never grew out of. It began from a second story garden apartment in Queens,(where I grew up), and I was called up for a variety of things: “D-I-N-N-E-R! P-H-O-N-E-C-A-L-L!”, “E-D S-U-L-L-I-V-A-N I-S O-N!” As I grew older, these “calling outs” of my mother’s, escalated to the next level, and she brought them with her into various department and book stores. Not having her trusty window with her, my mother would invariably wonder off to look at something, lose me in the process, and then page me. When I turned 43 (gulp!) I decided that I’d had enough! So ….. On A recent trip to K-mart, wondering through the plant isle, I realized that I was in a one way conversation with myself. My mother had done it again. Poof! she had disappeared. I knew in a manner of 5 minutes or so, my name would be announced, and ALL of K-Mart would hear it. I ran over to the toy department, and picked up an item. As I heard my name, I rushed over to the nearest cashier, and made my purchase. I took my mother’s arm, and escorted her outside, where I presented her with own megaphone. She laughed. After a recent trip to Macy’s with my son, I called my mother on the phone and asked: “Remember that megaphone I bought you in K-mart? Could I borrow it?” My mother laughed.