Played in Brooklyn, NY. I moved out to Bay Shore, Long Island, NY and my brother and I got the neighborhood kids playing it.
Played in Brooklyn, NY. I moved out to Bay Shore, Long Island, NY and my brother and I got the neighborhood kids playing it.
Always great to hear when this game is shared.
I played in Red Hook in the 60s
Are you kidding me? Skelzies was the go to game on my street in Bushwick, Brooklyn in the 50’s! Putnam Ave, between Evergreen and Bushwick Ave. was my turf. Once the last bell rang at PS 56, we hit the streets with our chalked layouts and our boss bottle caps…Hires RB, Nehi Orange, Black Cherry and Grape were my fav. caps. With our striped tees and new dungarees (rolled up with cuffs that could hold extra caps), our Keds or PF Flyers, we’d hit the asphalt. Of course we had to temporarily bail when a car came. Mark your spot with chalk and grab your cap. On a hot July day, if you forgot your cap or missed the grab you ran the risk of having it face planted in the street. Mom always inspected my ‘dungs when I came in for lunch, looking for knee holes.
As for the caps, we also used them to decorate our “scooters” – wooden milk boxes (I still have one) with a 2 x 4 nailed to the short bottom side, a metal skate cut in half sacrificed at each end of the board. Two stick handles nailed to the top and whoosh, the precursor to the electric scooter. The caps would be tacked to the front in whatever funky design we choose. The whole construction sat at our side as we played.
THANK YOU for keeping this iconic childhood memory alive. Can’t wait to order my black cap…Fred Yockers