Spaldeen

A Spalding Hi-Bounce Ball, often called a Spaldeen, is a rubber ball, the size of a tennis ball without the felt. It was the more expensive and more popular version of the Pensie Pinkie (made by Penn Racquet Sports). These balls are commonly used in street games developed in the mid-20th century, such as Chinese handball (a variation on American handball), stoop ball, hit-the-penny (involving trying to make a penny flip on a sidewalk), butts up, handball, punchball, half-rubber, and stickball (a variation of baseball).

Modern-day Spaldeen

Name

The term arose from a New York City-accented pronunciation of Spalding, the sporting goods company that produced the balls. The name has become so common that Spalding now uses it in marketing, and it is now a registered trademark.[1]

History

Spaldeens were popular with children from the 1930s through to the 1970s. In urban areas sparse in grass, Spaldeens became integral to many street games due to their bounciness and light weight. Citing the declining popularity of stickball, Spalding took the ball off the market in 1979, but it returned in 1999 to much fanfare.[1][2]

Colors

Since its return in 1999 Spaldeens have been manufactured in a variety of colors in addition to pink. Some of them are black, blue, green, orange, purple, red, and yellow.

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See also

Notes
  1. "The Spaldeen Is Back (Even if the Dodgers Aren't)". The New York Times. 13 March 2005.
  2. "New Life for an Old Favorite; The Spaldeen, Stickball's Bouncy Foundation, Makes a Comeback". The New York Times. 5 May 1999.
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