Fuzzball is a bat-and-ball street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game, and played in various areas of the United States (especially St. Louis, but also in Chicago where it is called "strikeout", Florida, and South Carolina). The equipment consists of a bat and a tennis ball that has had its outer layer burned or worn off.[1][2] The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation, i.e. whether it is played indoors or outside. Fuzzball can be played by as few as two players; outside of leagues in St. Louis, the Bevo Area Fuzzball League and the St. Louis Metro Fuzzball League and the annual Kearns Park Fuzzball Tournament of Champions, it exists as a pickup game, which has been successfully transplanted to "players leagues" which play a quasi-legal, quasi-outlaw version in Philadelphia and Northern California (San Jose and Santa Cruz, specifically). There are also fully official organized leagues for indoor fuzzball in St. Louis.[3] Interest in the game was waning, however, at the turn of the century: by 2004, most serious players were in their 40s, with a decreasing number of new players becoming interested.[2] Many St. Louis locals consider fuzzball to be a minor league training ground for future corkball players.[1]
- ^ a b Pierce, Charles P. (2000). "The Sport That Time Forgot". The Game. Esquire. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
- ^ a b Buck, Fred (2004). Street Games: Memories of a St. Louis Childhood, the Fifties and Sixties. AuthorHouse. pp. 1, 52–53. ISBN 9781418454746. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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