Wow! I was thinking of how we used to play Stoopball! This is a photo of where we played mostly in the 1950’s, and at times I would just throw a Spaldeen and be Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees pitching against the New York Dodgers, they always seemed to play against each other in the world series!

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. Stoop ball is a pickup neighborhood game played on the stairs of a residential dwelling by a minimum of two players.

The rules are based loosely on baseball. The object of the game is to score the most runs in 9 innings.

One player is the “batter” and the other players the “fielders”. The batter stands immediately in front of the stairs while the fielders stand behind the batter across the sidewalk on to the street. The “batter” throws a pink rubber ball (either a “spaldeen” or “pensie pinkie”) at the stoop. The ball flies back towards the fielders, who are also facing the stoop.

The objective is to hit the ball at such an angle and velocity so that it bounces back in the air as far as possible over the heads of the fielders, therefore registering bigger hits. The number of bases registered by a hit is determined by 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.

Rule Infomation, Wikipedia