Pinners

Pinners[1] is a Chicago neighborhood game[2] played on the front-stoop[3] or walls with angled bricks/stones which can be used to pop the ball up in the air. References and accounts of playing exist to 1949 or earlier. The batter would throw a rubber/tennis ball at the edge of the step or angled wall brick, and the fielder(s) would try to catch the ball as it bounces back. The ball[4] used was a two and a half-inch hollow pink soft rubber ball called a "Pinky," that bounced well off the edges of steps[5]. Baseball gloves were not allowed. The scoring rules[2] is similar to baseball, but with runs being virtual determined by where the ball lands. A single, double, triple or home run would be predetermined landmarks (i.e. sidewalk, trees, cars, street, curb/sidewalk lines) from the batting area. A catch is an out, and a one-handed catch could be used for a "rushie." As with most neighborhood games, rules varied by the groups playing and house rules would be determined at the start of the game, including the base locations. The game utilizes traditional Chicago neighborhood row house architecture, with most houses (Chicago Bungalow style) having front stairs or a stoop that leads from the front door to the sidewalk. Many of the schools built in Chicago have a horizontal perfectly angled section of decorative brick, at the right height, that was used for the game.

  • NOTE: The batter's box painted on building or school walls with an X marking was used for “Fast Pitch[6]” another local school-yard game.
Pinners
Players2 or more
Setup timeNone
Playing timeNo limit
Random chanceLow
Age range7 and up
Skill(s) requiredRunning, Catching, Throwing

Name Variants

Here are specific personal testimonies about name variants by players in various neighborhoods previously deleted from this entry but all of which are very much accurate and relevant. The universal name for the game throughout the city was called "Pinners."

  • Some North Siders referred to the game as Ledge[7].
  • In 1949 at Fiske Elementary, it was called (pronounced) Penner, without the plural s.
  • In the area near South Shore High School, the game was known as Pinnard or Pinnerd in the 1960s.
  • Bounce Out
  • 3 Outs [8]

Terminology
  • Double Play; A play in which the fielder catches the ball creating an out, the fielder may throw or lob the ball so that it bounces once on a step that is parallel to the ground. The fielder may move to catch the ball after the throw. The fielder who did not catch the ball for the original out may move before the ball has been thrown in order to catch the ball for another out. The throw to the step may hit the part of the step that is parallel to ground once, but may hit a part of the step that is perpendicular to the ground as well, the ball, however, is a dead-ball if on the throw it bounces off a backstop before being caught again.[2]
  • Rush Hour; A play in which the ball is out of play, either by foul ball, home run, or a misplay by the fielder, the fielder must throw the ball to the batter from where he stands or the batter may call stalling if the fielder is walking before he has thrown it in.[2]
  • Rushies: A one-handed catch, leading to an automatic three outs. The player catching the ball with one hand is allowed to run towards the batter's box and throw the ball while the opposing team is in transition from offense to defense.[2]
  • Stalling; When called the batting team is awarded a single without the batter, who would be up, having to sacrifice their turn in the order.[2]
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References
  1. "Sun Times Chicagopedia-Pinners".
  2. Gale, Neil (12 January 2017). "Pinners is a Chicagoland Baseball Game Played by Children Living in Congested Neighborhoods". The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal.
  3. "Chicago Pinners". 3 July 2013.
  4. "Chicago Tribune-Play, from back in the day".
  5. "Anyone ever play pinners | Chicago - Yelp". Yelp.
  6. "Chicago School Yard Baseball FastPitch 11/18/07". 19 November 2007.
  7. Cayton, Andrew R. L.; Sisson, Richard; Zacher, Chris (2006). The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. p. 880. ISBN 0253003490.
  8. "Chicago Magazine-24 Phrases You'll Only Hear in Chicago".


See also
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