Stoop ball

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Stoop ball (also spelled "stoopball") is a game that is played by throwing a ball against a stoop (stairs leading up to a building) on the pavement in front of a building. [1] [2] Historically, it has been popular in Brooklyn and other inner cities. In Boston, the game is known as "Up-Against." In Chicago, the game is known as "Pinners." In Chicago's Bridgeport area the game is called "Three Outs". The game is also known as "Off the Point". [3] It first became popular after World War II. [4]

Contents

Rules

Stoop ball is a pickup neighborhood game played near the stoop (outer concrete stairway) of a residential dwelling by a minimum of two players. The rules [5] are based loosely on baseball. The object of the game is to score the most runs in nine innings.

One player is the "batter" and the other players are "fielders". The batter stands on the sidewalk in front of the stoop, while the fielders stand on the street. The batter makes a "hit" by throwing a pink rubber ball (either a spaldeen or a pensie pinkie) at the stoop, with the objective of making it bounce off one of the steps at such an angle and velocity that it flies as far as possible over the fielders' heads. The number of bases registered by a hit is determined from the distance traveled by the ball before it is fielded, unless the ball is caught on the fly, resulting in an out.

The Stoopball League of America holds its annual world championships every July in Clinton, Wisconsin.

Variations

In addition to the "baseball rules" or "bounces" variation described above, there is also the "curbball" version, often played in parks. [6] The "original" version of stoop ball is a solitary game, with the same player both throwing the ball and attempting to catch it and earning points based on how many times the ball bounced before it was caught. [7] In northern New Jersey, around 1960, the game was known simply as "pinkie ball" and was often played off the curb on residential streets. Using only the curb resulted in many 1-0 games. In St. Louis, Missouri, this game was known as "stepball", where it was played from at least the 1930 to the 1980s. A Portable Stoopball Striker has even been patented. [8]

Stoopball has been played and enjoyed by a number of prominent persons. Sandy Koufax played stoop ball before beginning his Hall of Fame baseball career, [9] and announcer Marv Albert missed the city game so much that he had a stoop constructed at his house in the suburbs. [10] Billy Joel played stoop ball on suburban streets. [11]

A 2010 PBS documentary, New York Street Games features stoopball and gives a brief history of the sport as it pertains to New York City. [12]

Related Research Articles

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Wireball is a street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game, in urban areas of the United States. The equipment consists of a pimple or pensie pinkie ball and a convenient place in a street or driveway where an electric power line or group of power lines bisect horizontally. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation. It can be played with one or more persons per team.

Pinners is a Chicago neighborhood game played on the front-stoop 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 used was a two and a half-inch hollow pink soft rubber ball called a "Pinky," that bounced well off the edges of steps. Baseball gloves were not allowed. The scoring rules 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 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variations of baseball</span>

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport that has many recreational variants. The major sport most related to baseball is the Olympic discipline of softball, with the two sports being administered internationally alongside Baseball5 by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

The traditional games of New York City are one of the notable aspects of New York City's culture; many of them were brought over by the diverse mix of immigrants that settled in New York City, particularly from Europe. Many of these games used street furniture and other features of New York City's high urban density and were therefore also played in other cities of the United States. Most of these games have declined or disappeared in the modern era.

References

  1. ↑ "NYCdata | Uniquely NYC". www.baruch.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  2. ↑ Maguire, Jack (1990). Hopscotch, Hangman, Hot Potato, & Ha Ha Ha: A Rulebook of Children's Games. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-0-671-76332-9.
  3. ↑ "Stoopball at". Streetplay.com. September 21, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2010.[ unreliable source? ]
  4. ↑ Schupak, Marty. "Stoop Ball on". Webball.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Official Rules – Stoopball League of America". Stoopball.ning.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Stoopball - Curbball". Streetplay.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021.[ unreliable source? ]
  7. ↑ "Stoopball (Original)". Streetplay.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021.[ unreliable source? ]
  8. ↑ United States Patent # 5531449 "portable stoopball striker"
  9. ↑ "Harvey Frommer on Sports". Travel-watch.com. January 13, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  10. ↑ Beller, Thomas (November 17, 2005). "Mr. Beller's neighborhood". Mrbellersneighborhood.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Growing up Billy Joel". Courant.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  12. ↑ Hector Elizondo (narrator); Matt Levy (director). New York Street Games (Motion picture). New York City. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
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