Tag Archives: Pennsy Pinkie

in response to the hin-do…

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in response to the hin-do quesstion:we always said it stood for hindering or blocking out the other player. we always called a redo. also i’m going to give my vote to the pense pinkie. either ball was okay but the pinkies lasted longer as long as they stayed off the roof. does anyone remember chinese handball? you bounced the ball on the sidewalk before it hit the wall. and if you were the cause of play stopping you were sent down the end of the line.

We played stickball everyday…

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We played stickball everyday during the summer months on the asphalt sofball field at P.S. 133 in Bellerose Queens in the early ’60’s. Lots of strikeouts, but, nothing like the no vibration feel of hitting the sweet spot of a Pensie Pinkie ball. When hit well it would either be a solid 1 -2 hop ground ball or fly over the fences. Hit over the 30′ high fence and landing into the handball courts in leftfield was a double. Hitting the back fence on a fly in the handball courts was a triple Over that back fence in the handball courts onto the street was a homerun. There simply was no comparison to hitting the Pensie Pinky. Sometimes the ball would glance off the end of the bat and distort itself which caused it to seemingly slowly come off the bat and stretch itself out and you’d never know what direction it would go when it finally hit the ground. Pensie’s also kept their subtleness better when left outside for long periods of time as opposed to the Spaldeen. Pensie was the way to go.

I grew up in South Boston…

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I grew up in South Boston “Southie’ and the white pimple ball (circus ball) was more expensive 15 cents and desirable than the pinky (pennsey?) 10 cents. Circa 1960. We played fast pitch stickball against a brick wall with a chalk marked strike zone and a short field. We played slow ball stickball in a bigger parking lot. Both ways meant some broken windows. Also played handball and “hin-do” to us was a “hin-da” Local accent of course. (Hindrance) We also used the pimple ball for “scrub”, previously referred to as punch ball and another game, “off the steps”. Finally, halfball when the pimple ball lost its bounce. Pinkies were rarely, if ever, used for halfball, and were a poor substitute for all the other games. We also scoured all the flat roofs we could get on and did all we could to get the balls out of the sewers. All and all great memories. You handball guys from NYC must remember Paul Haber, boy, kill shot king. He used to do exhibitions against the local talent at the L Street Bathhouse.

Soft Pinkies rule. One of…

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Soft Pinkies rule. One of my most savored kid memories was walking back to school at lunch in NE Philly having just stole () a Pinkie from the corner candy store. Throwing a fresh pinkie at a nice tall brick wall on a spring afternoon is heaven on earth. Does anyone remember playing SUICIDE – a game with a sponge (Pinkie) ball against a wall (school wall). You would throw the ball to hit 1st the ground then 2nd the wall so the ball launched high in the air. If you caught it, the person who threw it must touch the wall b4 you get to peg him with the ball. If you try and catch someone else’s ball and miss, its your bum on the line. Still don’t know why it was called suicide. Likely many names for this game. Chris

Pennsy Pinkies were introduced…

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Pennsy Pinkies were introduced during my childhood, in the sixties, so it’s clear that kids from the fifties and earlier would not know them. I remember how excited I was when I was told that there were these great new balls that were better than spaldeens. They did have the Pennsylvania keystone symbol on them. “Hindu” was the do-over term specifically for when the ball took a really bad bounce because of a rock or something on the ground. I found out the derivation of the term when a kid from out of town, during a handball game in the schoolyard, called “hinder” when the ball hit a rock on the court. That told me that the word referred to a hindrance on the playing field.

In ENY, Linden Projects…

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In ENY, Linden Projects we used Pensie Pinkies mostly especially for the games like “Composition Letter A..” and “A My Name is Anna…” Spaldings bounced to high for these games but they were good for the game Spud! By the way, do they still make these balls anymore!?!

I grew up in Brooklyn on…

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I grew up in Brooklyn on Atlantic Ave., near Saratoga, (Bed Sty). I went to PS 87. I don’t remember a “Pinky” we all had Spaldeens. I remember the smell of a new one, just thinking about those games; stick ball, stoop ball, punch ball, box ball and hit the penny brings back fond memories. when we moved to Brownsville, all the kids there had Spaldeen’s too.

In Washington Heights we…

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In Washington Heights we used the Spaldeens… don’t remember the pinkys which, based on the discussion here, sound like basically the same sort of ball. We did have a Pink ball that was made of a different material than the spaldeen… it was a foam rubber ball… heavier, lots of bounce, but the grip of the soft rubber foam on the ground made it have “unpredictable” bouncing behaviors. We didn’t use those much, I don’t think, we used the spaldeens. Anyone else remember the Pink foam rubber balls I am refering to?