Stickball tournament players in Little Italy.

stickball player prepares while lineup is written

A stickball tournament was held Sunday in San Diego’s Little Italy, one block from the Festa event! The playing field was a city street in front of the Firehouse Museum. Lots of people watched from the sidewalk, sitting on lawn chairs and the curb.

Here’s a team wearing spiffy uniforms, getting ready to begin a game. A player practices his swing while the lineup is written with chalk on the street.

stickball batter swings away in little italy

Here’s a player from the opposing team swinging. If I recall correctly, he hit the rubber ball into a treetop, and it dropped for a single. Another player hit the ball onto the porch of a condo down the street. That guy was called out.

When I departed, the team in the spiffy uniforms was losing badly.

UPDATE!

Here are a couple more photos from a different Saturday morning in late summer…

A player misses and is called out to the dismay of his team.
A player misses and is called out to the dismay of his team.
Lady swings and crushes the ball a long distance down Columbia Street!
Lady swings and crushes the ball a long distance down Columbia Street!

Chalk evidence of stickball in Little Italy.

chalk evidence of stickball in little italy

Several days ago while out on a walk I took this photo of chalk writing on Columbia Street. It appears games of stickball have recently taken place.

Occasionally over the years I’ve wandered into people in Little Italy playing this classic American game. While the game is most popular in the Northeastern United States, organized games are played in San Diego, with a handful of teams and a few laid-back spectators on lawn chairs.

UPDATE!

I caught some live stickball action on a Saturday morning in late summer, and here are a couple pics!

Players gather for some fun on a Saturday in downtown's Little Italy.
Players gather for some fun on a Saturday in downtown’s Little Italy.
Stickball action in front of the San Diego Firehouse Museum.
Stickball action in front of the San Diego Firehouse Museum.