Living in a city neighborhood required certain adjustments to games and sports that we played. There was no park or grassy area nearby, other than a small empty lot a block away, which was useful for playing “army”, cowboys and Indians, or simply digging for “buried treasure”. The elementary school playground was concrete with painted lines for games like hopscotch and painted bases for a ball field. Neither my friend nor I ever played on an organized sports team, although baseball and football occupied much of our time and thoughts. We had no equipment other than basic necessities, such as baseball gloves and bats, baseballs (usually wound with black tape), old tennis balls and a football. Someone had a basketball, but mostly we shot “horse” or “pig”, rarely did we actually play a game.

Baseball, or some form of it, seems to have occupied a great deal of time. Most times, we played on the street, which had little traffic. We would chalk in home plate and bases then choose teams (2 or 3 to a side). Many times, we used a pimple ball or pink ball, rather than a regular baseball and it wasn’t uncommon for one of us to “roof” a ball. The street was a narrow one, with row homes on both sides. Sometimes, the ball would land on a porch roof, which could be accessed through the main bedroom windows. Other times, they would reach the house roof, which required a ladder, and occasionally an adult. Most times, since we were usually not within immediate sight of parents, we did it ourselves. Being on the rooftops was an adventure in itself.

One of our favorite variations of baseball was step ball. As the name implies, we used the steps to our homes. One of the advantages of the game is that it could be played with as few as two people. Each pair of row homes shared a wide set of steps leading up to the front porch, so there was plenty of room to throw the ball. The favored ball was the ubiquitous pimple ball. As its name explains, the surface of this hollow rubber ball was covered with raised bumps that we called pimples. This distinguished it from an “inferior” type that had a surface covered with stars. We felt that this type did not have the same carry as a true pimple ball.

The game itself was simple. The area from the steps to the curb was foul territory. From the curb to the first third of the street was designated a single, the second third of the street was a double, and the final third was a triple. Any ball reaching the far sidewalk was a home run. Usually, these designations were created using either chalk or a nearby stone that would mark the street. The “batter” would throw the ball against the step, attempting to hit the corner where the riser met the step. This would produce the optimal flight of the ball to get it to go as far as possible. If the ball struck the sidewalk nearest the step, it was considered a foul ball. Two fouls were an out. The “fielder” would be stationed in the street, attempting to catch the ball. Obviously, a catch was an out, and three outs led to the end of a half inning. On those occasions where we had more than one player a side, we simply made teams and the game proceeded.

Eventually, the pimple ball would lose its compression and no longer bounce well enough for step ball. In such a case, we resorted to half ball. Since the ball was rubber, it was easy to slice it in half using a sharp kitchen knife or a pair of scissors (which, of course, we ran with). The bat was made from an old broom or mop handle. At least, theoretically, they were old. I know of several occasions where one of our mothers found that her mop or broom was missing. None of us innocents would admit to anything.

Again, the game was simple. We played in the street with teams made up of a pitcher and fielders (as many as we had). In those days before Wiffle balls, a good half ball pitcher could make the ball do all kinds of tricks; floating up there, dipping, curving, and diving depending on his skill. Once again, the street was marked with hitting areas for singles, doubles, triples, and home runs, only this time the areas were marked length-wise rather than across the street. For the batter, the sidewalks were foul territory and two fouls were an out. One swinging strike was also an out, as were any balls caught in the air. On occasion, we simply did not have access to even a worn out pimple ball. In those instances, we played a variation called hose ball. An old (?) garden hose could be cut into 6 inch segments and used as the “ball”. The rest of the rules remained the same with the added bonus of welts on the hands and other body parts which the hose would cause if improperly caught or if the pitcher threw a hard inside pitch the batter could not avoid.

Another ball game that took up countless hours was a contest called chink. Our row house neighborhood had many mom-and-pop type stores that occupied the last house on the street since it frequently had a side entrance that became the store front. Behind each row of homes was a driveway that allowed access to the garages under the homes. The last home usually did not have a garage, since the basement and garage were converted to the store. What this meant was that this last home had a lovely flat wall instead of a garage door. For this game we tended to use a pink ball. Obviously, it was pink in color, and its surface was smooth rather than pimpled. In the game, the server would hit the ball on the fly against the wall. The receiver would attempt to return the serve allowing only one bounce. Of course, the return of serve was meant to be hit in such a way that it could not be successfully hit again. The volleying continued until one of the participants was unable to return a ball, at which point he was given a point. Most games were played to eleven, although we sometimes played to twenty one.

The name of the game arose from the attempt to hit the ball against the wall in the angle, of chink, created where the wall and driveway met. This would produce an unusual flight which would be difficult to return. Good players could create all kinds of ball action by slicing or cutting the ball created by swiping at the ball on its underside using the palm of the hand. The backspin would produce difficult to return bounces. A player might skim across the top of the ball, creating a whole different set of ball flight actions. I know physics is involved somehow, but I don’t care to think about it. This game was usually played by two players, but could involve as many as necessary, with each player being designated by number for his turn. As a variant, the game could be played in a way that the returner could call out the number of the player he wanted to hit the ball. This sometimes led to the players ganging up on one opponent, until he was eliminated. Of course, this also led to another activity called “fighting”.

As far as I know, none of my friends had much money, so most of what we did, we either made up or made ourselves. In the 1950’s, soda came in bottles with metal caps that had to be pried off with a bottle opener (much as modern beer bottles do). Mostly, these caps were filled with cork. It was a task to pry off the cap without bending it so it could be used. One use was for a game we played called “Poison”. We drew a rectangle on the street, again usually with a handy stone. Size varied, but covered a good bit of the width of the street. This is a diagram of the game. [DIGRAM OMITTED] The object was to flick your bottle cap from number to number [DGM Note: The diagram shows the number arrangement.] without having it stop in the poison space in the center. Landing there meant going back to one and starting over. The first to reach box 14 was the winner. There was always great discussion over whether it was better to pry out the cork, making the cap lighter and easier to flick, or leave the cork in so it stayed on course better. The game could be prolonged by requiring the player to reverse course and follow the numbers in reverse order back to one. Of course, the cap had to land entirely inside the box for it to count.

One game that I particularly love is called “Shut the Box.” You can even play it alone! It really keeps your mind active and your math skills sharp. Just Google ‘Shut the Box game’
to learn more about and where you can purchase.

Another fun, inexpensive game that we play is “Clothes Pins in the Bottle”~
Place a milk bottle (or other jar with a small opening) on the ground or floor. Let everyone try dropping ten clothespins into the bottle. See who can make the best score.

We could not afford to buy a ping-pong table when I was young, so we just purchased the paddles & balls at a thrift store and we played on our old kitchen table. We had just as much fun really and it allowed us to exercise and burn off some energy.

Don’t forget to make some homemade Play Dough if you have children… just Google to find out how. It can be loads of inexpensive fun and you most likely already have all of the ingredients.

“Scrabble” will keep your mind sharp as well as your spelling abilities. It
is a fun board game that really makes you use your brain!

If you are really creative, you can even make up your own bowling game!
Set-up some empty plastic soda bottles and grab a ball. Keep score!
Maybe give out a prize for the best score such as a Popsicle, candy bar, etc.

Thanks for me allowing to post my comments and for bringing back some wonderful memories from my childhood!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Scrabble, Monopoly and card playing carried from early childhood to adulthood for all of us. Putting together a big puzzle together kept popping up intermittently. Lots of pleasant memories — like learning how to play poker literally on my grandpa’s knee, while he took his sons to the cleaners.

If your budget is really tight, hit Goodwill or Salvation Army. Ours here has a whole row of board games and puzzles for just a buck or two each.