Michael Devlin

Farmingdale

Spaldeen. These were the most popular pink rubber balls of their day. Spaldeen is how you pronounced it, but the ball said Spalding Hi-Bounce Ball.

If you came out of your house as a child, you know "Spaldeens" and the dozens of games you played with them. Tougher than asphalt and brick walls, the ball of choice in New York City neighborhoods. Stickball, slap-ball, punch-ball, handball, box-ball, the "I declare war!" ball. It wouldn't mark a parked car, only direct hits would break windows, easy to spot when it got in the tomato plants, it attained the stratosphere off a stickball bat, could be caught with or without a baseball glove and smelled nasty when it split in two!