16 inch softball

[CBStew]

I posted this on Facebook but I thought that I would share it here:

I grew up with 16 inch softball.   We had about a dozen kids on our street and only one of us  (not me) could afford a ball.    We played with that thing for three or four seasons and eventually it was so mushy we couldn't hit that thing more than about 50 yards.  But that was good because the empty lot that we played in was just about that big.  With only 12 kids and all of us right handed we played right field was out and no first baseman.   Shortstop covered second.   "Pitcher's hands" was out.  The batting team had to provide its own catcher and if there was a play at the plate the runner was out on any close play  (so much for the honor system.)  By necessity we had so many rules that we made up to adapt to what we had the game had little resemblance to real baseball, but we loved it and played it for hours every day from April to the end of October after school and on weekends.  As soon as it snowed we switched to tackle football on that lot.  We drove by where that lot used to be.  It isn't there anymore.  It was in Albany Park, now Mayfair, on Lawrence between Keystone and Pulaski (it was named Crawford when I lived there.)

[Tonker]

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Stew-- did you ever play "Pinner" also?

[Chuck to Chuck]

Stew-- did you ever play "Pinner" also?

We called it Pinners. And I taught the Murtons to play.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Stew-- did you ever play "Pinner" also?

We called it Pinners. And I taught the Murtons to play.

I never learned it; just know my dad played it growing up in Lakeview around the same time Stew was living just a little west of him.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

And I know this'll engender a whole host of "Huey is not a meatball"s but I don't care--16" softball fucking rules and I miss not playing it anymore.

[SKO]

And I know this'll engender a whole host of "Huey is not a meatball"s but I don't care--16" softball fucking rules and I miss not playing it anymore.

So if it rules, why are you missing when you weren't playing it? #pank'd.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

And I know this'll engender a whole host of "Huey is not a meatball"s but I don't care--16" softball fucking rules and I miss not playing it anymore.

So if it rules, why are you missing when you weren't playing it? #pank'd.

Indeed.

[CBStew]

Pinners...Hell yes.  When there were only two of us around we would get a hard rubber ball around the size of a tennis ball and play complete nine inning baseball games using the lineups of the Cubs and the Cards or Cincinnati (never the White Sox or any American League team)  and play for hours bouncing it off the tip lower step coming out of my house.  Tennis balls travelled too far for the amount of space that we had.  We would also play off the ledge at the front of our synagogue, waiting for classes to start at our Hebrew School.  The rabbis tolerated it knowing that if they banned it they might suffer a drop off of students.

[Oleg]

[Quality Start Machine]

I miss playing fast pitch at Oscar Mayer and Sullivan HS. Some of those old guys could throw some ongodly breaking shit.

[InternetApex]

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

And I know this'll engender a whole host of "Huey is not a meatball"s but I don't care--16" softball fucking rules and I miss not playing it anymore.