Tag Archives: spaldeen types
In the mid to late 1940’s…
In the mid to late 1940’s a Spaldeen cost $.19 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I don’t remember Pensie Pinkies – did they come along in the 50’s? Three sewers was a home run. In the 30’s the “big guys” used to play great stick ball games but that stopped when they went to WWII and rubber balls were not avaialable. While most of the guys came back, they went on to other pursuits after the war. Our games were fun, but they never seemed, in my mind, to match-up with those the “big guys” played.
I always found the spaldeen…
Vandeveer Estates – late…
Vandeveer Estates – late 50s early 60s — all games, no question, Spaldeen…Pennsie Pinky was just a ball you could buy when you could’t get a Spaldeen…but you could always get a Spaldeen, ’cause you just didn’t want a Pennsy Pinkie. But when the ball was dead it was time to use it for ‘Squash’ – you know, handball with tennis raquets – because if a ball had too much bounce, it would move so fast it would be impossible to hit, and when it was on its last legs it was PERFECT for squash.
We also played potsy and…
I lived in East Flatbush…
I lived in East Flatbush during the late fifties to early sixties then after moving out to L.I. came back to hangout with my friends through the early seventies. PS 209, on Ave D and East 48th St., was one place where we played stickball. 209 was shaped like a U and we played strikbox, width wise. We played “automatics” where your hits were determined by where the ball hit the opposite wall. Had lots of fun there. Spaldeens ($.25) were primarily used. We used Pensy Pinkies ($.30) for punch ball and king/queen. “Eggballs” were used as a last resort. They came in various colors. Asses up/ace king queen was played routinely. I also fished balls out of the corner sewers as did many of my contemporaries.
Does anyone from the Bronx…
Back in the Bronx in the…
In my neighborhood (Brownsville,…
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.
i live in philly, and i’m…
i live in philly, and i’m 20 years old, we still play all old street games, our fav is wireball, you play we go into the night just playing that game, we once had the cops coming around and kicking us off the street because it was so late, another favorite game is half ball, we cut a tennis ball, or a racketball in half, if we can find pimple balls we use them, and hit it off the wall of an old prison on fairmount ave. so all you guys that think none of these games are still played, guess again, just come to fairmount ave. in philly and join us