"Stoop ball (also spelled 'stoopball') is a game that is played by throwing a ball against a stoop (stairs leading up to a building) on the pavement in front of a building. ... Historically, it has been popular in Brooklyn and other inner cities. It first became popular after World War II." W - "A Spalding Hi-Bounce Ball, often called a Spaldeen, is a small pink rubber ball, somewhat similar to a racquetball, supposedly made from the defective core of a tennis ball without the felt."
Wikipedia, W - Spaldeen, SI - "Confessions Of A Stoop Ball Champion", The Big Apple
Wikipedia, W - Spaldeen, SI - "Confessions Of A Stoop Ball Champion", The Big Apple
It seems that Stoop Ball was around before WWII. Fred Astaire states in his autobiography, 'Steps in Time,' that he played Stoop Ball as a kid around 1908 in NYC between Times Square and 8th Avenue when he lived at a boarding house at this address. He reports that it was a bit of a rough neighborhood but he enjoyed playing various street games with the boys there as a child.
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