Pinners

Last updated
Pinners
Players2 or more
Setup timeNone
Playing timeNo limit
ChanceLow
Age range7 and up
Skills Running, Catching, Throwing

Pinners [1] is a Chicago neighborhood game [2] played on the front-stoop [3] or walls with angled bricks/stones which can be used to pop the ball up in the air. References and accounts of playing exist to 1949 or earlier. The batter would throw a rubber/tennis ball at the edge of the step or angled wall brick, and the fielder(s) would try to catch the ball as it bounces back. The ball [4] used was a two and a half-inch hollow pink soft rubber ball called a "Pinky," that bounced well off the edges of steps. [5] Baseball gloves were not allowed. The scoring rules [2] is similar to baseball, but with runs being virtual determined by where the ball lands. A single, double, triple or home run would be predetermined landmarks (i.e. sidewalk, trees, cars, street, curb/sidewalk lines) from the batting area. A catch is an out, and a one-handed catch could be used for a "rushie." As with most neighborhood games, rules varied by the groups playing and house rules would be determined at the start of the game, including the base locations. The game utilizes traditional Chicago neighborhood row house architecture, with most houses (Chicago Bungalow style) having front stairs or a stoop that leads from the front door to the sidewalk. Many of the schools built in Chicago have a horizontal perfectly angled section of decorative brick, at the right height, that was used for the game.

Contents

Name Variants

Here are specific personal testimonies about name variants by players in various neighborhoods previously deleted from this entry but all of which are very much accurate and relevant. The universal name for the game throughout the city was called "Pinners."

Terminology

See also

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References

  1. "Sun Times Chicagopedia-Pinners". Archived from the original on 2008-11-23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gale, Neil (12 January 2017). "Pinners is a Chicagoland Baseball Game Played by Children Living in Congested Neighborhoods". The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal.
  3. "Chicago Pinners". YouTube . 3 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
  4. "Chicago Tribune-Play, from back in the day". 21 June 2007.
  5. "Anyone ever play pinners | Chicago - Yelp". Yelp.
  6. "Chicago School Yard Baseball FastPitch 11/18/07". YouTube . 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
  7. Cayton, Andrew R. L.; Sisson, Richard; Zacher, Chris (2006). The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. p. 880. ISBN   0253003490.
  8. "Chicago Magazine-24 Phrases You'll Only Hear in Chicago". 13 June 2021.