# Stickball > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Stickball > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Stickball.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball > Source revision: 1341359377 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Street game}}{{For|the traditional sport native to North America|Indigenous North American stickball}} thumb|right|Stickball in New York '''Stickball''' is a [street game](/source/street_game) similar to [baseball](/source/baseball), usually formed as a [pick-up game](/source/pick-up_game) played in large cities in the [Northeastern United States](/source/Northeastern_United_States), especially [New York City](/source/New_York_City), [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), and [Boston](/source/Boston). The equipment consists of a [broom](/source/broom) handle and a rubber ball, typically a [spaldeen](/source/spaldeen), pensy pinky, high bouncer or [tennis ball](/source/tennis_ball). The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation. For example, a [manhole cover](/source/manhole_cover) may be used as a base, or buildings for foul lines. The game is a variation of [bat and ball games](/source/Bat-and-ball_games) dating back to at least the 1750s. This game was widely popular among youths during the 20th century until the 1980s. ==Variants== [[File:Boys Playing Stickball, Havana, Cuba, 1999.jpg|thumb|Kids playing stickball in [Havana](/source/Havana), 1999]] In fungo, the batter tosses the ball into the air and hits it on the way down or after one or more bounces.{{cite web | title = Stickball Basics | publisher = Streetplay.com | url = http://www.streetplay.com/stickball/introduction.shtml | access-date = August 24, 2012}} Another variant is [vitilla](/source/vitilla), a popular variation of stickball played primarily in the Dominican Republic and areas in the United States with large Dominican populations. == In popular culture == * In a scene from the 1976 film ''[Rocky](/source/Rocky)'', a group of youths play [halfball](/source/Half-rubber) (a variant of stickball) on the streets of [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia).{{Cite web |title=Rocky |url=https://www.awesomefilm.com/script/rocky.html |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=www.awesomefilm.com}} In the 1979 sequel ''[Rocky II](/source/Rocky_II)'', the main character himself plays stickball/halfball in one scene.{{Cite web |title=1979 Topps Rocky II #3 Stickball Champ! {{!}} Trading Card Database |url=https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/85597/cid/6181703/1979-Topps-Rocky-II-3-Stickball-Champ! |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=www.tcdb.com}} * The season 4 episode, "[Lisa's First Word](/source/Lisa's_First_Word)", of the animated series ''[The Simpsons](/source/The_Simpsons)'' has a scene taking place on the Lower East Side of Springfield (visualized like a typical 1930s urban [New York City](/source/New_York_City) neighborhood) where a boy asks his friends if they want to play stickball and they agree; instead of actually playing stickball, the group of kids head over to an [arcade](/source/Amusement_arcade) and play a [video game](/source/Arcade_video_game) of the sport. * In the song "[I'm The Man](/source/I'm_the_Man_(EP))" by [Anthrax](/source/Anthrax_(American_band)), [Scott Ian](/source/Scott_Ian) is said to like playing stickball. * ''[White Collar](/source/White_Collar_(TV_series))'' TV series (Episode 2.02 - "Need To Know") protagonist Neal Caffrey comes up with a clever plan to create a park in honor of the fictional boy Timmy Nolan, who loved to play stickball. * In ''[Billions](/source/Billions_(TV_series))'' TV series (Episode 2.09 - "Sic Transit Imperium"), character Bobby Axelrod plays stickball and shares a related story of how he grew up playing stickball. * [Billy Joel](/source/Billy_Joel)'s song "[Keeping the Faith](/source/Keeping_the_Faith_(song))" mentions the lyrics, "Learned stickball as a formal education". ==See also== {{Portal|Baseball}} * [Cork ball](/source/Corkball) * [Gillidanda](/source/Gillidanda) * [Half-rubber](/source/Half-rubber) * [Vitilla](/source/Vitilla) * [Street cricket](/source/Backyard_cricket) * ''[Street Sports Basketball](/source/Street_Sports_Basketball)'' * ''[Street Sports Baseball](/source/Street_Sports_Baseball)'' ==References== {{cite news |last=Dandes |first=R. B. |date=May 5, 1985 |title=For These Boys of Summer, the Game Is Stickball |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/05/nyregion/for-these-boys-of-summer-the-game-is-stickball.html |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 2, 2024 |archive-url= |archive-date= |quote=New York City was the hotbed of stickball interest. Devised in the 1920s, for many years the game was called ''One-Bounce.'' A pitcher would bounce a ''spaldeen'' - the little pink rubber ball that cost a nickel - to the plate. When it was hit with the sawed-off broomstick handle that served as a bat without being caught, the batter advanced to impromptu bases (sewers, for instance). [...] Stickball's popularity peaked in the 1950s. By the 60s, with the increasing number of cars that clogged city streets and the mass exodus to the suburbs, the game fell into decline.}} {{cite web |last=Koerner |first=Brendan I. |author-link=Brendan I. Koerner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/business/yourmoney/the-spaldeen-is-back-even-if-the-dodgers-arent.html |url-access=subscription |title=The Spaldeen Is Back (Even if the Dodgers Aren't) |date=March 13, 2005 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091540/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/business/yourmoney/the-spaldeen-is-back-even-if-the-dodgers-arent.html |url-status=live}} {{cite news |last=Dupont |first=Kevin Paul |date=May 26, 2013 |title=Stickball in New York is a vanishing game |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/05/25/stickball-new-york-vanishing-game/V4bLlDjnO2zlxwCOqkGXFP/story.html |work=[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe) |place=[New York City](/source/New_York_City) |publication-place=[Boston](/source/Boston) |access-date=July 2, 2024 |quote=What’s more quintessential New York than stickball, right? Uh, no, not right. Stickball doesn’t live here anymore. At least not in the way it does in the mind’s eye, how it did when a young, vibrant Willie Mays swung a broom handle in the street outside his old home in Harlem in the 1950s or when Joe Pepitone did as a stylish Yankee in Brooklyn in the ’60s.}} {{cite news |last=Gold |first=Jonathan |date=September 11, 2017 |title=Welcome to Stickball Boulevard |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/20670727/welcome-stickball-boulevard |work=[ESPN](/source/ESPN) |access-date=July 2, 2024 |quote=Stickball was once an integral part of the urban youth experience. Images of ragtag groups of children playing in the street became iconic depictions of New York City and helped shape the world's perception of New Yorkers as the street-smart, rough-and-tumble class of America. Slowly, like so much of Americana, it has faded from the streets, cars and buses rendering the roadways perilous, Xboxes and iPhones commandeering kids' attention.}} ==External links== * ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2GOplwV_BA: Fast pitch Stick ball (An Unheard Pastime)]'' (2007), directed by Jesse Tornabe * ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL73zv3XTNc: Coverage Of Stick ball Opening Day]'' (2008) * ''[http://www.braggingrightsmovie.com/ Bragging Rights: Stick ball Stories]'' (2006), directed by Sonia Gonzalez * ''[https://vimeo.com/54036852 Stick ball Night Coverage: Stick ball Highlights]'' (2006), directed by Ross O. Fomerand {{Team sports}} Category:Baseball genres Category:Sports originating in the United States Category:Street games Category:Team sports Category:Ball and bat games --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stickball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.