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half rubber wikipedia jump to content main menu main menu move to sidebar hide navigation main page contents current events random article about wikipedia contact us contribute help learn to edit community portal recent changes upload file special pages search search appearance donate create account log in personal tools donate create account log in contents move to sidebar hide top 1 history 2 rules toggle rules subsection 2 1 equipment 2 2 players 2 3 play 2 4 strategy 3 variations 4 references toggle the table of contents half rubber 1 language português edit links article talk english read edit view history tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide from wikipedia the free encyclopedia bat and ball game half rubber also known as halfball or halfies 1 is a bat and ball game similar to stick ball or baseball the game was developed in the american south around the beginning of the 20th century moving north with the great migration in new york city and philadelphia where it was widely played by the 1950s in addition to stick ball it can be played with as few as three players and involves no running of bases 2 the sport was typically played on a city street now played in parks or the beach using a baseball sized rubber ball that has been cut or sawed in half legendary origins of this half ball vary from kids splitting a ball so that two games could be played at once 3 to an accident where a pimpleball broke in half and kids had no money to buy a new one so they played with a half ball 4 5 to an innovation by adults who wanted to reduce the chances of the ball breaking windows on nearby buildings 6 history edit the cities of savannah georgia and charleston south carolina both claim to be the birthplace of half rubber as early as the 1890s 7 in his book halfrubber the savannah game dan jones interviewed players who dated the game as far back as 1913 8 in the august 1927 edition of american speech journal english teacher lowry axley claims that the game originated in savannah some eight to ten years ago by two boys who got the idea when they were hitting pop bottle caps with broom handles 9 in the january 1975 issue of western folklore hugh m thomoson says that he played half rubber in rural georgia in the mid 1930s 9 in south carolina half rubber traces its roots back to the charleston neighborhood of little mexico 10 other accounts record the game as coming from the freed slave community of pin point georgia 11 half rubber was played by african americans in the streets in and around both savannah 11 12 and charleston during the great depression some young half rubber players went on to play professional baseball for the negro leagues during segregation claiming that they got to be good hitters because it was easy to hit a whole baseball with a thick bat after years of swinging at a half ball with a skinny broomstick 13 14 over several generations half rubber s popularity waxed and waned in south carolina and georgia with resurgences occurring the 1940s and 1970s 2 meanwhile the game known as halfball was being played in cities around the northeastern united states in the 1930s 1940s and 1950s and remained popular throughout the 1960s and 1970s particularly in philadelphia camden boston and new york city as far west as st louis as well as on the beaches of cape cod 2 4 halfball or half rubber games and tournaments can now be found in other cities around the u s under either name which name gets used often indicates if it was brought there from the north or the south beginning in the 1970s thomas cosmo harper brought the game of halfball to the us west coast of turtle island in los angeles ca as well as seattle and spokane wa coinciding with the outbreak of the covid 19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 mr harper officially established the world halfball league whbl to meet the global need for a new sport with built in social distancing measures through collaboration with the academy for gameful immersive learning experiences whbl is attempting to create a new form for the sport that uses augmented reality mixed reality and virtual reality technologies that can be played and watched from quarantine 15 rules edit the basic premise of the game is a pitcher throws a half ball toward a batter who swings at it with a stick or bat and a catcher who tries to catch the half ball some players like to wear gloves some do not from there rules vary greatly from state to state city to city and even block to block on november 11 2020 the world halfball league whbl published a text titled rules for the sport of halfball with the goal of ultimately making the game accessible in many languages everywhere 16 while there are differences between the rulebook published by whbl and some variations below all players agree that half a ball is twice the fun according to page two of rules for the sport of halfball players wishing to enter their games and stats into the whbl and its related leagues must play by the rules in the most current version of the rule book and thus should only consult the rules specified there 17 equipment edit the equipment for the sport consists of a broomstick or mop handle used as a bat and a solid rubber ball cut in half though in urban halfball games a bisected pimple ball or tennis ball is often used half rubber regulations call for a stick 48 long while some halfball experts state 41 long and 1¼ thick as a standard 4 18 the world halfball league book titled rules for the sport of halfball on the other hand states no wider than 1 diameter wooden dowel or broomstick of any length 16 in boston a bladeless hockey stick is often used for a halfball bat and special bats and pre cut balls 2½ 3 in diameter are also manufactured for the sport 19 players edit when three play each plays for themselves rotating duties as pitcher catcher and batter with four players two person teams take turns batting and fielding the two players act as pitcher and catcher while fielding and alternate as batters when not tournaments usually use three player teams and four player teams are common in the south where half rubber is played in parks and on beaches with extra players taking the field 18 play edit play consists of the pitcher throwing the ball to the catcher while a batter attempts to hit the ball as in baseball some half rubber regulations call for the pitcher to stand 50 or 60 feet from the batter whereas the whbl states that distance from home plate to pitching rubber 13 strides and also provides dimensions for distance fields which can be played down the street or at any park parking lot or indoor gymnasium with sufficient space and for wall fields which can be played on any suitable wall of 3 or more stories in height 17 pitchers try to strike out batters one strike is an out if the missed halfball is caught by the catcher if the catcher misses the pitch the batter is not out and gets another chance if the batter tips the ball and the catcher catches it the batter is out and in savannah and south carolina this counts for double outs your out plus the next hitter 2 no baserunning is involved in the game the score is kept by keeping track of imaginary runners tagging the bases of a non existent diamond typically a grounder past the pitcher is a single if the pitcher fields it before it gets past position it is an out not in savannah fly balls past the pitcher unless caught for outs are doubles and balls hit to a pre designated distance are home runs triples are agreed upon prior to games tournament half rubber has only singles and home runs the latter being achieved by hitting the ball 120 feet or double the distance between batter and pitcher 2 in three player games a batter continues to swing until out signaling the rotation of players from batter to catcher to pitcher in team play each inning the next player in the batting order hits first when their side is up to bat game length varies regionally three innings in south carolina four to nine in georgia seven in new jersey etc some play that a tie results in an extra inning with an all hits are runs rule 18 strategy edit pitching catching and hitting in that order are the most important skills good pitchers can make the ball sail upshoot left curve right curve drop balls etc in countless directions and some pitchers get to be extremely good batters meanwhile attempt to make contact playing with a backstop is a good idea it takes a long time to become a good pitcher only slightly less for a catcher hitting is not easy either but is the easiest of the three skills to learn if the batter tips the ball and the catcher catches it then the next batter on that team is out in addition to the batter the game goes faster if you have someone to retrieve the batted balls also having several balls is a plus playing on grass or sand leads to less ball bounce than playing on concrete though seldom used some players have a home rule that says four consecutive pitches that the batter does not swing at and the catcher does not catch is the same as a hit for the batter that rule makes the pitcher attempt to throw pitches that the hitter can reach variations edit similar street games using improvised stand ins for a ball have existed in different cities under various names one called tire ball was played in philadelphia with a 4 inch piece of balloon bicycle tire or garden hose because the tire was harder than a half ball and more liable to break windows the game was usually played lengthwise in a driveway rather than across a street citation needed references edit gerard shields september 16 2011 revisiting a very obscure sports rivalry the philadelphia inquirer 1 2 3 4 5 pavlakovich susie and diggers tim half rubber a kids game for grown ups pdf knowitall org archived from the original pdf on october 14 2012 retrieved october 14 2012 cite web cs1 maint multiple names authors list link quick david half rubber going strong at home base the post and courier archived from the original on march 23 2014 retrieved october 15 2012 1 2 3 callahan kevin halfball but not half hearted courier post retrieved october 16 2012 all about halfball halfball com retrieved october 15 2012 mihal dave halfball faq streetplay com retrieved october 13 2012 lucas christine fuller half rubber a game of the ages in savannah and charleston savannah morning news retrieved october 14 2012 jones dan 1980 halfrubber the savannah game lithonia georgia halfrubber press isbn 0 9604808 0 3 1 2 dickson paul 1999 the new dickson baseball dictionary a cyclopedic reference to more than 7 000 words names phrases and slang expressions that define the game its heritage culture and variations 1st harvest ed new york harcourt brace co pp 237 isbn 978 0156005807 cornelison jimmy june 15 1979 follow the bouncing ball the news and courier retrieved october 15 2012 1 2 zulu shaka gullah geechee cultural heritage corridor public input meeting june 9 2009 6 30 p m pdf turner hodge community center retrieved october 16 2012 jolly elaine the founding of lepageville a legacy to african american railroad workers pdf charles e varner retrieved october 16 2012 profile modie risher western canada baseball retrieved october 16 2012 nichols jeff april 12 1997 high profile modie risher the post and courier retrieved october 16 2012 galactic world halfball league retrieved november 12 2020 1 2 world halfball league covid safe sport join play today world halfball league retrieved november 12 2020 1 2 harper lestelle whbl org november 11 2020 rules for the sport of halfball v2 1 world halfball league retrieved november 11 2020 1 2 3 schwarz paul the unofficial official rules halfrubber com land shark productions archived from the original on april 27 2012 retrieved october 16 2012 delorme rita h taking a swing at half rubber an early 20th century family game pdf southern cross retrieved october 15 2012 authority control databases national united states israel retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title half rubber oldid 1364781981 categories ball games street games baseball genres hidden categories articles with short description short description matches wikidata use mdy dates from august 2025 cs1 maint multiple names authors list all articles with unsourced statements articles with unsourced statements from april 2013 this page was last edited on 18 july 2026 at 14 14 utc page was rendered with parsoid text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike 4 0 license additional terms may apply by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc a non profit organization privacy policy about 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