pimple ball

Philip E. Cleary pcleary at WANS.NET
Fri Jul 20 22:35:03 UTC 2001


<Are any of you Northeasterners familiar with the term "pimple ball" for a
ball used in playground games? We have two cites from the Boston area, but
aren't precisely sure what the ball is like.  One quote says that they are
used in a game similar to punchball and that they are "soft, small, white
balls," but does "pimple" refer to the dimpled surface characteristic of a
golf ball? Any help appreciated.>

A "pimple ball" is a hollow, white, rubber ball, slightly smaller than a
golf ball. I would describe the surface of a pimple ball as the opposite of
a golf ball's: A golf ball's surface has indentations; a pimple ball's has
small bumps (whence, I assume, the name). When I used them (in Boston in the
late 50's and early 60's), it was primarily for stickball.

FYI, I asked two of my teenaged kids, both native, life-long Bostonians, if
they knew what a "pimple ball" was. They didn't.

Phil Cleary



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