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Punchball is a sport spawned by and similar to baseball, but without a pitcher, catcher, or bat.^[1]^[2]

The "batter" essentially plays "fungo" without a bat, bouncing or tossing up the ball and then using a volleyball type approach to put the ball in play, punching the ball with his fist.^[3]^[4]^[5] The ball was usually a rubber spaldeen^[6] or pensie pinkie, but even a tennis ball or wad of taped-up paper can be used.^[7]^[a] Base stealing, foul balls,^[11] and bunting are not allowed.

Popular in New York (particularly in the early 20th century),^[12]^[13] especially among poor Jewish children who could not afford bats or baseballs, historian and baseball enthusiast Stephen Jay Gould referred to it as "the canonical recess game",^[14] and in The Boys of Summer baseball writer Roger Kahn described how when he grew up it was a boys' game, as the girls played "slapball".^[15] Punchball's popularity derived partially from the fact that it carried less risk of losing the ball or breaking windows than a standard game of baseball, and that it could be played with fewer people.^[12] The origins of punchball may date to the 18th century and earlier, as John Thorn, official historian for Major League Baseball, has suggested that the depiction of baseball in A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, which was the first appearance in print of the sport, may have involved batters hitting with a hand.^[16]

Baseball Hall of Famers Nick Hoffman,^[17] Sandy Koufax,^[18]^[19] and Yogi Berra^[20] played it growing up, as did sports team owner Jerry Reinsdorf,^[21] Senator Bernie Sanders,^[22] and former US Secretary of State and general Colin Powell.^[23]^[24] Major league outfielder Rocky Colavito, when asked if he played punchball, answered "Play it? Man, that was my game. I liked to play that more than anything else ... anything. We used to play for money, too."^[25] It was also a pastime of football announcer Al Michaels, who often played with former Chicago Bears quarterback Sid Luckman.

Variations

In one version of punchball, a line was drawn between first base and third base, and the batter would be out if the ball was hit into the ground before passing the line.^[12] In another variation, the batter had to hit only into the infield.^[11]

In slapball, as Roger Kahn and Robert Mayer describe it, the game was played in a triangular field with only three bases. For this reason, the game could also be called triangle.^[26]^[27] Slapball can be played with up to ten players on each team (with the tenth player acting as a fourth outfielder),^[11] with a pitcher throwing the ball underhand on one bounce to the batter.^[27]

Punchball could be played with as few as two players on each team,^[12] and was typically played with five to six players on each team.^[28] There were a number of ways to make the game work with only two players on each team; fewer infielders were required when "pegging" (throwing at a runner instead of tagging them to get them out) and "homing" (throwing the ball toward home plate to get a runner out) were allowed,^[29] and in Mayer's version, punchball could be played with only three bases, along with something akin to basketball hoops being installed at center field; a home run was declared if the ball was hit into the hoops, but an out declared if the ball was hit just above them.^[13] Sliding into bases was also not allowed.^[30]

Popular culture

A 2010 PBS documentary, New York Street Games, includes punchball.^[31]

In season 10, episode 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David states that he played punchball after grieving the death of his pet turtle.

References

^ Prager, Joshua (11 March 2008). The Echoing Green. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-307-38933-6. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Clement, Priscilla Ferguson; Reinier, Jacqueline S. (1 January 2001). Boyhood in America: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-57607-215-8. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ "Streetplay Rulesheets: Punchball".
^ Milberg, Alan (1976). Street Games. McGraw-Hill. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-07-041915-5. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Seymour, Harold (19 April 1990). Baseball: The People's Game. Oxford University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-19-802096-7. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Connor, Anthony J. (March 1998). Voices from Cooperstown: baseball's Hall of Famers tell it like it was. Galahad Books. ISBN 978-1-57866-016-2. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Jacobs, Greg (2016-03-12). The Everything Kids' Baseball Book: From Baseball's History to Today's Favorite Players--With Lots of Home Run Fun in Between!. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4405-9389-5.
^ Press, Associated PressAssociated (2023-01-21). "Schools Face Pressure to Take Harder Line on Discipline". K2 Radio. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
^ "Mike Kirby: Memories of 'Sacre Coeur,' and sockball". The Sun Chronicle. 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
^ Jr, Leonard Pitts (2009-03-01). Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood. Agate Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57284-602-9.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hume, Donald (2005-01-01). "Recreational Games for Physical Education". Strategies. doi:10.1080/08924562.2005.10591137. ISSN 0892-4562.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Morris, Peter (2006). A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations that Shaped Baseball : the Game on the Field. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-56663-677-3.
^ ^a ^b Mayer, Robert (2003). Notes of a Baseball Dreamer: A Memoir. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-618-32961-8.
^ Gould, Stephen Jay (17 May 2004). Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville: A Lifelong Passion for Baseball. W. W. Norton. pp. 41–42, 258. ISBN 978-0-393-32557-7. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Riess, Steven A. (1998). Sports and the American Jew. Syracuse University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8156-2754-8. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Thorn, John (2012-03-20). Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-9404-1.
^ Dunn, Herb; Henderson, Meryl (1 March 1999). Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer. Simon and Schuster. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-689-82453-1. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Koufax, Sandy; Linn, Edward (1966). Koufax. Viking Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780670415083. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Doeden, Matt (1 September 2006). Sandy Koufax. Twenty-First Century Books. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-8225-5961-0. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Allen, Maury, Baseball Digest, November 1969, "Yogi Berra: The People's Choice," Vol. 28, No. 10, p. 88, ISSN 0005-609X, accessed December 16, 2009
^ Robbins, Michael W.; Palitz, Wendy (2001). Brooklyn: A State of Mind. Workman Pub. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-7611-1635-6. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^
- Maslin Nir, Sarah (April 8, 2016). "Bernie Sanders Back in the Old Neighborhood to Make His Case". New York Times.
- Sanders, Bernie (2016-04-08). Full Speech: Bernie Sanders Rally in Flatbush, NY (4-8-16) Bernie Brooklyn New York Rally (Speech). Bernie Sanders rally at Flatbush childhood home. Brooklyn, N.Y.^{[dead YouTube link]}
^ Means, Howard B.; Fine, Donald I. (1992). Colin Powell: Soldier-Statesman - Statesman-Soldier. Donald I. Fine, Ins. pp. 48, 59. ISBN 978-1-55611-335-2. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Hughes, Libby (April 1996). Colin Powell: a man of quality. Dillon Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-382-39260-3. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ Falls, Joe, Baseball Digest, July 1960, Vol. 19, No. 6, "Two Boys from the Bronx," p. 24, ISSN 0005-609X, accessed December 16, 2009
^ Kahn, Roger (2013-08-01). The Boys of Summer. Aurum. ISBN 978-1-78131-207-0.
^ ^a ^b Mayer, Robert (2003). Notes of a Baseball Dreamer: A Memoir. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-618-32961-8.
^ Seymour, Harold; Mills, Dorothy Seymour (1960). Baseball. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-506907-5.
^ Levinson, Martin H. (2024-02-02). Brooklyn Boomer: Growing Up in the Fifties (Revised New Edition). iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-6632-5657-7.
^ Mayer, Robert (2003). Notes of a Baseball Dreamer: A Memoir. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-618-32961-8.
^ Hector Elizondo (Narrator); Matt Levy (Director). New York Street Games (Motion picture). New York City. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 14 Nov 2011.

^ In some variations of punchball, known as sockball, the ball was either a rolled up sock or a volleyball.^[8]^[9]^[10]

External links

punchball rules
"Letter to the Editor: For Punchball Players, Stickball is for Sissies", Seaford, Lou Defichy, The New York Times, April 30, 1989]
The boys of summer, Roger Kahn, Harper & Row, 1972

[1] Prager, Joshua (11 March 2008). The Echoing Green. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-307-38933-6. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[2] Clement, Priscilla Ferguson; Reinier, Jacqueline S. (1 January 2001). Boyhood in America: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-57607-215-8. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[3] "Streetplay Rulesheets: Punchball".

[4] Milberg, Alan (1976). Street Games. McGraw-Hill. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-07-041915-5. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[5] Seymour, Harold (19 April 1990). Baseball: The People's Game. Oxford University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-19-802096-7. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[6] Connor, Anthony J. (March 1998). Voices from Cooperstown: baseball's Hall of Famers tell it like it was. Galahad Books. ISBN 978-1-57866-016-2. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[7] Jacobs, Greg (2016-03-12). The Everything Kids' Baseball Book: From Baseball's History to Today's Favorite Players--With Lots of Home Run Fun in Between!. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4405-9389-5.

[8] Press, Associated PressAssociated (2023-01-21). "Schools Face Pressure to Take Harder Line on Discipline". K2 Radio. Retrieved 2024-12-15.

[9] "Mike Kirby: Memories of 'Sacre Coeur,' and sockball". The Sun Chronicle. 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2024-12-15.

[10] Jr, Leonard Pitts (2009-03-01). Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood. Agate Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57284-602-9.

[:1-12] Hume, Donald (2005-01-01). "Recreational Games for Physical Education". Strategies. doi:10.1080/08924562.2005.10591137. ISSN 0892-4562.

[:0-13] Morris, Peter (2006). A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations that Shaped Baseball : the Game on the Field. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-56663-677-3.

[:2-14] Mayer, Robert (2003). Notes of a Baseball Dreamer: A Memoir. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-618-32961-8.

[15] Gould, Stephen Jay (17 May 2004). Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville: A Lifelong Passion for Baseball. W. W. Norton. pp. 41–42, 258. ISBN 978-0-393-32557-7. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[16] Riess, Steven A. (1998). Sports and the American Jew. Syracuse University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8156-2754-8. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[17] Thorn, John (2012-03-20). Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-9404-1.

[18] Dunn, Herb; Henderson, Meryl (1 March 1999). Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer. Simon and Schuster. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-689-82453-1. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[19] Koufax, Sandy; Linn, Edward (1966). Koufax. Viking Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780670415083. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[20] Doeden, Matt (1 September 2006). Sandy Koufax. Twenty-First Century Books. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-8225-5961-0. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[21] Allen, Maury, Baseball Digest, November 1969, "Yogi Berra: The People's Choice," Vol. 28, No. 10, p. 88, ISSN 0005-609X, accessed December 16, 2009

[22] Robbins, Michael W.; Palitz, Wendy (2001). Brooklyn: A State of Mind. Workman Pub. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-7611-1635-6. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[23] 
Maslin Nir, Sarah (April 8, 2016). "Bernie Sanders Back in the Old Neighborhood to Make His Case". New York Times.

Sanders, Bernie (2016-04-08). Full Speech: Bernie Sanders Rally in Flatbush, NY (4-8-16) Bernie Brooklyn New York Rally (Speech). Bernie Sanders rally at Flatbush childhood home. Brooklyn, N.Y.^{[dead YouTube link]}

[23] Maslin Nir, Sarah (April 8, 2016). "Bernie Sanders Back in the Old Neighborhood to Make His Case". New York Times.

[24] Sanders, Bernie (2016-04-08). Full Speech: Bernie Sanders Rally in Flatbush, NY (4-8-16) Bernie Brooklyn New York Rally (Speech). Bernie Sanders rally at Flatbush childhood home. Brooklyn, N.Y.^{[dead YouTube link]}

[24] Means, Howard B.; Fine, Donald I. (1992). Colin Powell: Soldier-Statesman - Statesman-Soldier. Donald I. Fine, Ins. pp. 48, 59. ISBN 978-1-55611-335-2. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[25] Hughes, Libby (April 1996). Colin Powell: a man of quality. Dillon Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-382-39260-3. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[26] Falls, Joe, Baseball Digest, July 1960, Vol. 19, No. 6, "Two Boys from the Bronx," p. 24, ISSN 0005-609X, accessed December 16, 2009

[27] Kahn, Roger (2013-08-01). The Boys of Summer. Aurum. ISBN 978-1-78131-207-0.

[:3-28] Mayer, Robert (2003). Notes of a Baseball Dreamer: A Memoir. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-618-32961-8.

[29] Seymour, Harold; Mills, Dorothy Seymour (1960). Baseball. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-506907-5.

[30] Levinson, Martin H. (2024-02-02). Brooklyn Boomer: Growing Up in the Fifties (Revised New Edition). iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-6632-5657-7.

[31] Mayer, Robert (2003). Notes of a Baseball Dreamer: A Memoir. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-618-32961-8.

[32] Hector Elizondo (Narrator); Matt Levy (Director). New York Street Games (Motion picture). New York City. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 14 Nov 2011.

[11] In some variations of punchball, known as sockball, the ball was either a rolled up sock or a volleyball.^[8]^[9]^[10]

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PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Punchball

Variations

Popular culture

See also

References

External links

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