Stick It to 'em

A popular NYC street game is alive and well in one Miami parking lot

While it seems like everyone is voting… and voting… and voting some more on whether or not the Marlins will get fancy new Miami digs, it’s nice to know that there is a league that’s just happy to play.

That league would be the Miami Stickball League, which has a roster of 40 ranging in age from16 to 70-plus, many of whom originally played the game growing up in New York, where stickball thrived because of, well, lack of money for baseball equipment.

“We used to play on a big wide street, between Broadway and Riverside, between buses and cars,” recalled 76-year-old Milton Vidal. “And when you hit that ball, it was a thrill.” Manhole covers served as bases, and breaking a car window was an automatic out.

Despite their three Florida championships, there’s no shiny new stadium in their future.  Vidal and his teammates play in the parking lot of the now-closed Modernage furniture store, but really he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“I love doin’ what I’m doin -- that’s playin ball. That’s my heart. Stickball is my game.”

 

Contact Us