NewYorkFirst.com: Brooklyn Stickball Set

Back to the Future.

When played on the streets of New York, manhole covers were used as home plate and second base, with parked cars or lamp posts completing the diamond. Fielders handled the ball's crazy caroms off cars and the walls of the apartment buildings were the foul lines. If the ball hit them it was foul. Spectators watched from stoops, balconies or fire escapes, and the only break in the action came when the lookout shouted, "Car!"

In those days, all the kids played stickball. Modeled after America's national pastime, stickball was a Brooklyn neighborhood tradition, with players using a ball called the "Spaldeen" (Spalding in New Yawk tawk). The best balls were brand new and didn't yield too easily to pinching and squeezing. A new Spaldeen thrown hard against the asphalt street could bounce 35 or 40 feet into the air.

Luckily for civilization, you can now play the game with a precision-crafted solid wood bat featuring a competition-wrapped grip etched with Spalding logo and signature. The set includes two authentic High-Bounce "Spaldeens." Of course, playing the game is the best way to keep the stickball tradition alive.

Free! Official Stickball Rulebook.
Included with each Official Brooklyn Stickball Set is the Official Stickball Rulebook, containing history, variations of the game, and traditional rules of the game just as it was played by the "trolley dodgers." Everything you ever wanted to know about stickball, and the literary companion to the authentic Spaulding bat and high-bounce ball set.

The Bounce is Back.
You might have called it a Spaldeen. You might have called it a pinky. Whatever its name, the pink rubber ball with the big bounce meant hours and hours of neighborhood fun. Hollow, soft, non toxic, gentle and forgiving. Yes, sometimes a thin piece of glass might be shattered, but many a city window was spared because it was hit with soft rubber instead of a hardball. You could play catch without a glove, and even younger kids could work up a decent curve when pitching. They could last a while before they lost their bounce and were officially pronounced "dead." But balls seldom lived their natural lifespan. Sometimes they'd split in half, usually they'd get lost or just disappear. It was a natural cycle of life, accepted and understood by all; and though you might silently mourn the loss of a favorite ball, new balls were easy to get and more fun to use.

Homeplate and Second Base.
Actual size (24-inch diameter) of the New York Sanitation Department cast-iron version, the Manhole Cover Floor Mat is made from 100% recycled truck tires, then nylon-flocked, making it extremely durable and suitable for indoor or outdoor use. A couple of these will set the stage for a nostalgic game of stickball.

Playing for Keeps.
Besides stickball, New York City street kids have spent many happy hours on the playground, shooting marbles. Now, a new generation of kids can join in the fun. First, you find a dirt area. Then you make a circle with a hole inside of it. Each player puts on marble in the circle. You take a shooter and try to hit the marbles into the hole. If you get them into the hole you get to keep them, but only if you are playing for keeps. If you get the marbles into the hole, you also get to go again. Collectible tin includes 48 assorted marbles, 2 large shooters & 20-page Shooting Games Handbook with 15 classic marble games, rules, and shooting techniques.

Shooting Marbles Set.

Price: $14.

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Lost in Civilization?
The ingenious New York City Compass combines industrial designer David Dear's technical expertise and illustrator Victoria Kann's collage artwork into a genuine working compass. To trip the light fantastic on the sidewalks of Eastside, Westside, all around the town, just rotate the compass housing until the needle and the True North marker line up. With this tool, you'll always be able to both determine your current location (orientation) and follow a course (navigation). Great when you are sightseeing or to help you find your way home after a night out! Includes vinyl pouch and lanyard.