Tuesday, Dec. 3 marked opening day for the Wycliffe Stiffs Stickball League’s 2024-25 season. This is the 23rd season for the league. The league, which is conducted in cooperation with the Wellington Parks & Recreation Department, plays its games at Wellington’s Village Park in an area nicknamed “Stickball Blvd.” All the games are played on Tuesday afternoons.
This year’s league has five teams. They are the New York Egg Creams, the Brooklyn Bums, the Hoboken Zephyrs, the Bronx Clippers and the Atlantic Whalers. Most of the participants are residents of the Wycliffe Golf & Country Club.
There were two games on opening day. The first game, which started at 1 p.m., featured Atlantic vs. Brooklyn. Brooklyn prevailed, 8-4. Prior to the opening game, league founder Marty Ross and Director of Operations Harry Klaff threw out the first pitch. Ross and Klaff are the only two players who have been playing in the league since its inception in 2002.
Hoboken played Bronx in the second game. The two teams played to a 1-1 tie. The ceremonial first pitch of the second game was thrown by Wycliffe Golf & Country Club General Manager Rob Martin.
The Hoboken Zephyrs are the defending league champions. Gerry Ranzal will be the official scorekeeper for all regular season and postseason games this season. On opening day, Steve Goldberg was the announcer.
Another tradition of opening day was the availability of refreshments. “We always have egg creams and Oreo cookies on opening day, which is most nostalgic,” Ross said.
In addition to being the only two players who have participated in all 23 stickball seasons of the league, both Ross and Klaff were inducted into the Wycliffe Stiffs Stickball Hall of Fame in 2009. Over the past 22 seasons, Ross has 335 hits, of which 17 are home runs, and a career batting average of .408. Klaff has 342 career hits, of which 160 of them are doubles, and a career batting average of .460.
Over the past 23 years, a number of teams have competed in the league, whose motto is, “Dedicated to keeping stickball a tradition, not just a game.” Some of those team names from prior years include the Coney Island Bull Dogs, the Broad Street Bullies, the SoHo Dawgs, the NY 2-Sewers, the Atlantic City Taffy Pullers, the Congressional Barons, the Boston Diehards, the Dukes of Flatbush, the Wycliffe Yankees, NY’s Finest, Boston Strong, the Harlem Knights, the Concourse City Slickers and the Manhattan Kings.
According to Ross, a total of 512 players have participated since 2002-03.
The game of stickball is a street version of baseball that originated on the streets of big cities, particularly New York and Philadelphia. Looking back, Ross reflected on the moment when he knew the idea of creating a stickball league would be well-received.
“When I showed the ball and the broom handle stick to some friends, their eyes lit up and they smiled,” Ross said. “That’s what motivated me to start the league. Over the years, we have kept tweaking the rules to make it better.”
According to League Director Arthur Spector, the overall goal is to have a good time.
“As kids back in New York, playing stickball was all about winning, and now it’s all about having a good time,” Spector said. “The re-creation of street fun from our childhood creates smiles.”
The Wycliffe Stiffs Stickball League has 13 regular-season playing dates, which will be held on Tuesday afternoons between early December and mid-March. The 2025 Wycliffe Stiffs Stickball Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on March 4. The last regular season game will be played on March 18. The postseason playoffs begin on March 25. The league championship game is scheduled for April 1. The annual all-star game will be contested April 8.
