Halfball: Difference between revisions

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|Game Eras=Derivative, Post-1900
|Game Eras=Derivative, Post-1900
|Invented Game=No
|Invented Game=No
|Description=<p>Halfball was a game using half of a rubber ball and imaginary baserunning.&nbsp; It was apparently the same game as [[Half-Rubber.]]</p>
|Description=<p>Halfball was a game using half of a rubber ball and imaginary baserunning.&nbsp; It seems likely to resemble [[Half-Rubber]], which was reportedly played in the US. South and the Philadelphia area.</p>
<p>It was described as a street game on Wikipedia.</p>
<p>It is also described as a street game on Wikipedia.</p>
<p>Baby Boomer Jack Hammer (actual name!) describes <em>Half Ball </em>as a subspecies of a street game (known there as stickball) as played in Cambridge MA in the late 1950s.&nbsp; The ball used in this game was a hollow pink spiky object known as a "pimple ball," which, when stressed by play, tended to split open along its seam.&nbsp; The players separated the two halves, and the resulting game was called half ball.&nbsp; A half ball had interesting aerodynamic behaviors.</p>
<p>Baby Boomer Jack Hammer (actual name!) describes <em>Half Ball </em>as a subspecies of a street game (known there as stickball) as played in Cambridge MA in the late 1950s.&nbsp; The ball used in this game was a hollow pink spiky object known as a "pimple ball," which, when stressed by play, tended to split open along its seam.&nbsp; The players separated the two halves, and the resulting game was called half ball.&nbsp; A half ball had interesting aerodynamic behaviors.</p>
<p>The bat used in this game was a broom handle sawed off at about 30 inches.&nbsp; Man-hole covers in the street could serve as bases for actual baserunning.&nbsp; Jack adds: "Besides a manhole covers, sometimes we marked outlines of bases with chalk (rarely available) or with pieces of slate roof tiles. sometimes we used a board for home or second base. First base and third base could be a tree, a utility pole, or the tail light or head light of parked vehicles." Email of 12/31/2019.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The bat used in this game was a broom handle sawed off at about 30 inches.&nbsp; Man-hole covers in the street could serve as bases for actual baserunning.&nbsp; Jack adds: "Besides manhole covers, sometimes we marked outlines of bases with chalk (rarely available) or with pieces of slate roof tiles. Sometimes we used a board for home or second base. First base and third base could be a tree, a utility pole, or the tail light or head light of parked vehicles." (Email of 12/31/2019.)&nbsp;</p>
<p>(Another subspecies of game , called "Judge," employed imaginary runners.)&nbsp;</p>
<p>Another subspecies of game , called "Judge," employed imaginary runners.</p>
<p>For these games, oncoming traffic was marked by a shriek --"Carrr!!!" --&nbsp; that cleared the motorway of lads.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
<p>For these games, oncoming traffic was marked by a common shriek -- "Carrr!!!" --&nbsp; that cleared the motorway of lads.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
|Sources=<p>See also [[Half-Rubber]] and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfball. Accessed December 2019.</p>
|Sources=<p>See also [[Half-Rubber]] and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfball. Accessed December 2019.</p>
|Comment=<p>We asked Protoball friend Mark Schoenberg about any experience with&nbsp;Stick Ball in 1950s Brooklyn.&nbsp; He recalls that Spaldeens rarely split open, 'though balls known as "Pinkies" sometimes did.&nbsp; A floppy half-Pinkie could be employed in fungo games, but not in a continuation of a stickball game.&nbsp; (Email of 1/1/2020).</p>
|Comment=<p>We asked Protoball friend Mark Schoenberg about any experience with&nbsp;Stick Ball in 1950s Brooklyn.&nbsp; He recalls that Spaldeens rarely split open, 'though balls known as "Pinkies" sometimes did.&nbsp; A floppy half-Pinkie could be employed in fungo games, but not in a continuation of a stickball game.&nbsp; (Email of 1/1/2020).</p>
|Query=<p>Was a pimple ball known to be used regularly in other locations for baserunning-type games?</p>
|Query=<p>Was a pimple ball known to be used regularly in other locations for baserunning-type games?&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
|Has Supplemental Text=No
|Has Supplemental Text=No
}}
}}

Revision as of 07:48, 4 January 2020

Glossary of Games
Curated by Larry McCray and Jeffrey Kittel
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Baseball · Kickball · Scrub · Fungo · Hat ball · Hook-em-snivy

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Game Halfball
Game Family Fungo Fungo
Regions US
Eras Derivative, Post-1900
Invented No
Description

Halfball was a game using half of a rubber ball and imaginary baserunning.  It seems likely to resemble Half-Rubber, which was reportedly played in the US. South and the Philadelphia area.

It is also described as a street game on Wikipedia.

Baby Boomer Jack Hammer (actual name!) describes Half Ball as a subspecies of a street game (known there as stickball) as played in Cambridge MA in the late 1950s.  The ball used in this game was a hollow pink spiky object known as a "pimple ball," which, when stressed by play, tended to split open along its seam.  The players separated the two halves, and the resulting game was called half ball.  A half ball had interesting aerodynamic behaviors.

The bat used in this game was a broom handle sawed off at about 30 inches.  Man-hole covers in the street could serve as bases for actual baserunning.  Jack adds: "Besides manhole covers, sometimes we marked outlines of bases with chalk (rarely available) or with pieces of slate roof tiles. Sometimes we used a board for home or second base. First base and third base could be a tree, a utility pole, or the tail light or head light of parked vehicles." (Email of 12/31/2019.) 

Another subspecies of game , called "Judge," employed imaginary runners.

For these games, oncoming traffic was marked by a common shriek -- "Carrr!!!" --  that cleared the motorway of lads.   

Sources

See also Half-Rubber and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfball. Accessed December 2019.

Comment

We asked Protoball friend Mark Schoenberg about any experience with Stick Ball in 1950s Brooklyn.  He recalls that Spaldeens rarely split open, 'though balls known as "Pinkies" sometimes did.  A floppy half-Pinkie could be employed in fungo games, but not in a continuation of a stickball game.  (Email of 1/1/2020).

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Query

Was a pimple ball known to be used regularly in other locations for baserunning-type games?  

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Comments

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